Health workers should reverse FGM procedures by deinfibulation, WHO says

Deinfibulation is recommended for preventing and treating obstetric and urologic complications, specifically recurrent urinary tract infections and urinary retention, in women with type 3 female genital mutilation (FGM), according to new World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines launched at Women Deliver in Copenhagen today.1

The guidelines for the management of health complications from FGM also recommend antepartum or intrapartum deinfibulation to facilitate childbirth in women who have undergone type 3 FGM.

There are four types of FGM and type 3, often referred to as infibulation, involves the narrowing of the vaginal …