Johnson & Johnson Funds Safe Motherhood

In the developed world, fistula is so rare that many doctors have never seen a case. In the developing world, this complication of childbirth is all too common. Colonies of mothers who have experienced fistula and been abandoned by their families and communities exist in many poor countries.

Fistula occurs when a baby passes through the birth canal during protracted labor. The strain can rupture the uterus, resulting in the contents of bowel or bladder leaking out. Unrepaired, fistula can cause life-threatening infection, but more often it results in odors that leave mothers abandoned and destitute.

Fortunately, Johnson & Johnson and other companies are long-time corporate partners in UNICEF's Safe Motherhood Initiative in India, Asia and Africa. The initiative pays for transportation of women in labor to clinics, training for midwives, repair surgeries and many other simple, but life-changing services.

Thanks to the Initiative, according to the group's website, the percentage of deliveries in health care settings in the Guna district of Madhya Pradesh, India — for example — has gone up from 35 percent a few years ago to better than 75 percent last year.

Image courtesy of Open Clip Art, via Wikimedia Commons