African Women Face Postpartum Risks

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Each year, 50,000 to 100,000 women develop a condition called fistula after prolonged childbirth, a post-natal result that hardly occurs in the United States any longer but continues to be a severe problem in many developing nations. Last Saturday, Dr. Karolynn Echols ’89 came to speak about her experience treating fistula in West Africa and how it inspired her to create Medicine in Action (MIA), a non-profit healthcare organization focused on underserved women’s health issues. Dr. Echols was the keynote speaker for Skee-Week 2007, sponsored by the Mu Upsilon chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha.