MSF doctors and midwives see female genital mutilation or FGM (also called female genital cutting) in many of the places where MSF works. In some places, the vast majority of women coming in for maternal care will have undergone some version of the proceedure. The New York Times cites a Centers For Disease Control and Prevention report that says as the number of African migrants in the US has grown, so have the number of women with FGM who are having a dificult time getting gynecological care.

“Public health officials… are warning that some doctors and nurses are not prepared to deal with the physical and emotional complications associated with the procedure — sometimes called female genital mutilation or F.G.M./C — and in some cases may unintentionally traumatize the women they are trying to help.”

Read Effects of Ancient Custom Present New Challenge to U.S. Doctors

MSF has opened a new maternity unit for pregnant women with Ebola—or those suspected of having Ebola—within an Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone.

“Before this outbreak, all we really knew about pregnancy and Ebola was that usually the women die either while pregnant or else during the birth. As Ebola is a hemorrhagic fever, once a woman goes into labor, she will most likely bleed to death.”

Photo by Fabio Basone/MSF

Read An Additional Challenge: Tending to Pregnant Women with Ebola

Welcome to the Because Tomorrow Needs Her blog. We will post content here related to women’s health in developing countries.

Here is a story about providing maternity care and health education in South Sudan:

Home delivery is common in Yambio; it is the custom, and most women are unfamiliar with the advantages of hospital delivery, or they can’t afford the transport needed to reach a medical facility.

Read Providing Care and Health Education for Mothers in South Sudan