42. Effects of conflict on women's reproductive health need to be recognised and managed
Clinicians need to be sensitive and aware of the unique challenges of women's reproductive health needs in times of conflict, suggests a review published in The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist (TOG).
Approximately 1.5 billion people are currently living in countries affected by conflict, fragility or large-scale violence. Women and children account for approximately 75% of those displaced by conflict and roughly 20% of those displaced are women of reproductive age and one in five will be pregnant.
This new review looks at how conflict can negatively impact all aspects of reproductive health, directly through damage to services, gender-based violence and forced displacement of populations and indirectly through reductions in the availability of basic healthcare.
The review states that gender-based violence, sexually transmitted infections (including HIV), and maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity all flourish in times of conflict. Furthermore, the loss of access to adequate family planning and basic health services also increases reliance on traditional or harmful methods, including unsafe termination of pregnancy.
