This year’s Valentine’s Day may just be the perfect dream of anyone who seeks to save cash and hang out alone or with friends. Not only is it a weekday, it is also Ash Wednesday (Catholic faithfuls know that this is an important day for Lent) and it is a day for Football lovers as Champion League unleashes Real Madrid Vs PSG. Many people will spend this day alone as declaring love will not be tied to a significant other. This year’s Valentine’s Day will be the perfect chance for football fans to declare their love for their favourite clubs.

If you are not a football lover or a Catholic, you may want to avoid feeling bad when leboo decides to go to the viewing centre or have friends over at his place. It goes without saying that a lot of babes will spend this day away from the mushy setting Feb 14 is known for. The good part is this; you don’t need anyone to show you love when you have got yourself covered. Whether you plan to celebrate love on Valentine’s Day or push the celebration to the weekend, this article is going to show you how to have great fun without breaking the bank or missing that special guy.

Here are 4 solid ways to pamper yourself this Valentine’s Day.

Go to the Spa

Many ladies feel that it costs a fortune to get the glow they long for. With as little as 10k, you can give your skin a new look by getting a full body scrub. This will not only help relieve the stress of the week, it will also give you the feel of relaxation that comes with spoiling yourself while taking off the dead cells on the surface of your skin. If you have some more cash to spare, you can throw in a full body massage and feel each rub remove tension in a way that will make you smile. You can make it a fun experience by making it an all-girls party. Just get all your friends to sign up for the spa experience and go for a drink afterwards. Try it this Valentine’s Day/weekend and feel your body thank you.

Visit the Mall

It is no hidden fact that the end of the holidays has eliminated the possibility of going on a road trip with friends and loved one but this is a different way to have a good time. A trip to the mall does not have to depend on how much free time you have got on your hands. All you need do is meet with your friends at a venue and call an Uber or Taxify cab to take you to the mall. There are different interesting spots to trade gist, grab a bite and window shop without getting bored. Window shopping is a great way to remind yourself of the beauty of making more money. You can also end the mall trip on a good note by seeing a movie together. That way, you get to laugh, cry and analyze the movie as a group. Just make a pick and move around to enjoy yourself this Valentine’s Day.

Go to the Beach

Water has a refreshing effect on everyone (and no, we are not talking about chilled water in a bottle). The beach is the place to enjoy the warmth of Mother Nature in form of the beautiful sun, taste of salt and the cool breeze that leaves you smiling. One place to visit this season is the serene Leisure Lake at Lekki. It does not cost much to get in (about 1500 or so) and there are a lot of edibles to choose from. You also get to move on water by cruising on the boat or trying your hands at Jet Skiing. There are other fun activities to choose from which will leave your adrenaline pumping while blessing your camera with cool pictures. Choose a date and have all the fun the beach has to offer alone or with your friends.

Stop at a Karaoke Bar

This activity is for the songbirds and their fans. If you love a challenge and have a soft spot for singing, you might want to try this with your goons. The ambience of a karaoke bar is dark and cosy enough to add a spark to your evening. Add a few drinks and suya or food to the mix and see the atmosphere light up for you and your friends. This activity is perfect for Valentine’s Day because night time is synonymous with karaoke. All you have to do is make provision for a sleepover so all the girls can get up the next morning and leave for work. You can also have a dress code and exchange gifts with the girls to make it a perfect night of love.

Now go on, have great fun and create sweets memories on and off camera with your goons this Valentine’s Day.

The post The February 14 Issue-Four Fun Activities to Make This Valentine’s Day Special appeared first on Hermaze | Relationship, Beauty, Fashion, Family Articles for Women.

This is the tale of most young girls. 3% of every 1000 young under-aged Nigerian girl goes through the phase. This has become common practice in Northern Nigeria.

Obstetric fistula (OF) is a medical condition in which a hole develops between either the rectum and vagina, a ureter and the vagina, or between the bladder and vagina after difficulties in childbirth. It can result in incontinence of urine or faeces.

It is more common and evolves into something worse when adequate medical care is not available. It is considered a disease of poverty or ignorance.

Literally, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says obstetric fistula is simply-

“A childbirth injury that has been largely neglected, despite the devastating impact it has on the lives of affected girls and women. It is usually caused by prolonged, obstructed labour, without timely medical intervention, say an emergency Caesarean section. During unassisted, prolonged, obstructed labour, the sustained pressure of the baby’s head on the mother’s pelvic bone damages soft tissues, creating a hole, also called fistula between the vagina and the bladder and/or rectum. The pressure deprives blood flow to the tissue, leading to necrosis. Eventually, the dead tissue comes away, leaving a fistula/hole, which causes a constant leaking of urine and/or faeces through the vagina.”

The Signs and symptoms of this disease includes:

Fecal incontinence or Lack of control over defecation, leading to involuntary loss of bowel contents such as flatus (gas), liquid stool elements and mucus, or solid faeces. This usually happens at night or may be continual.

• Foul-smelling vaginal discharge
• Repeated vaginal or urinary tract infections
• Irritation or pain in the vagina or surrounding areas
• Pain during sexual activity

Obstetric fistula have far-reaching physical, social, economic, and psychological consequences on the women affected.

Mostly the tail end of young under-aged marriages for girls between the ages of 9-15, and according to UNFPA, “Due to the prolonged obstructed labour (during child birth after the much older men would have forcibly had their way with the girls and they become pregnant) , the baby almost inevitably dies, and the woman is left with chronic incontinence. That is, she becomes unable to control the flow of urine or faeces, or both, she may be abandoned by her husband and family and ostracized by her community. Without treatment, her prospects for work and family life are virtually non-existent.”

The implication of Obstetric Fistula can be in three forms

• Physical
• Societal
• Psychological

Physical Implication

The most direct consequence of an obstetric fistula is the constant leaking of urine, faeces, and blood as a result of a hole that forms between the vagina and bladder or rectum. This leaking has both physical and societal penalties. The acid in the urine, faeces, and blood causes severe burn wounds on the legs from the continuous dripping.

Nerve damage that can result from the leaking can cause women to struggle with walking and eventually lose mobility.

In an attempt to avoid the dripping, women limit their intake of water and liquid which can ultimately lead to dangerous cases of dehydration. Ulceration and infections can persist, as well as kidney disease and kidney failure, which can each lead to death. Some women, due to obstetric fistulae and other complications from childbirth, do not survive.

Social Implication

Physical consequences of obstetric fistula leads to severe sociocultural stigmatization for various reasons. For example, in the Movie DRY, Halima’s friends, family and supposed in-laws probably due to illiteracy or ignorance did not consider obstetric fistula a medical condition, but a divine punishment or a curse for disloyalty, infidelity, disrespectful behaviour or even witchcraft.

Pain resulting from Fistula makes the woman unable to perform household chores and childrearing as a wife and as a mother, thus devaluing her especially in a society like ours where it is solely considered a woman’s duty to do chores. As a result, many girls who were forced/coerced into early marriages are divorced or abandoned by their husbands and partners, disowned by family, ridiculed by friends and immediate society.

Just like Halima who became a marginalized member of the village, she was made to live in the bush far from friends and loved ones, she was isolated in a hut. Though she her mother and co-wife showered her some love, yet it wasn’t enough. She was humiliated and felt so alone. She later passed on due to an infection in the birth canal. She was thrown out of her husband’s home due to the constant leakage and unavoidable offensive odour.

Psychological Implication

This range from the saddening effect of the loss of a child, the rejection and humiliation they face from their supposed loved ones, the marginalization from the smell, societal embarrassment and inability to perform wifely/motherly roles. This is enough to run one mental/ suicidal.

In treating fistula, the nature and size of the injury should be considered. This varies depending on the size and location of the fistula, so a surgeon with experience is needed to improvise on the spot. Before the patient undergoes surgery, treatment and evaluation are needed for conditions including anemia, malnutrition, and malaria. Treatment for this is available through reconstructive surgery. Primary fistula repair has a 91% success rate. Successful surgery enables women to live normal lives and have more children, but it is recommended to have a cesarean section to prevent the fistula from recurring.

Mental health treatment is needed to rehabilitate fistula patients, who experience psychological trauma from being ostracized by the community.

Also, professional and medical birth attendance at all births is required to prevent this illness. In doing this, emergency obstetric care for women who develop complications during delivery would keep fistula at bay.

One major challenge hindering the treatment of fistula is information. Most women have no idea that treatment is available. Because this is a condition of shame and embarrassment, these women hide themselves and their condition and suffer in silence.

Early marriages lead to early childbirth; which increases the risk of obstructed labour. If this practice of marrying off young under-aged girls to much older men, illiteracy and traditional home birth  can be stop then 90% of Obstetric Fistula will be prevented. Then our girls can go to school, live their dreams, become a force to reckon with and make the nation proud.

The post Ways Nollywood Movie Dry Tells The Fate of Under-aged Marriages and Obstetric Fistula appeared first on Hermaze | Relationship, Beauty, Fashion, Family Articles for Women.