Prevalence of Obstetric Fistula and Pelvic Organ Prolapse in Bangladesh: Summary of the 2016 National Estimates

The Bangladesh Maternal Mortality and Health Care Survey (BMMS) in 2016 aimed to measure national levels of obstetric fistula (OF) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Validating self-reported cases of OF and POP in the BMMS sample through clinical examination was not feasible for a nationwide sample of women. Therefore, the authors conducted a complementary study—the Maternal Morbidity Validation Study (MMVS)—to gather information on the validity of the self-reported OF and POP that can then be used to adjust the national level estimate from the BMMS data. The study was implemented by a partnership including MEASURE Evaluation, icddr,b, the Maternal & Child Health Integrated Program, Fistula Care Plus, Bangladesh’s National Institute of Population Research and Training, and Johns Hopkins University, with funding from USAID and UKAID.

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