Authors' recommendations: We included 136 primary studies, 42 of which compared groups of women who had been subjected to FGM/C with women who had no or different types of genital alterations. The main finding is that FGM/C has harmful consequences for a woman's gynecological health. We found that: •Women with FGM/C seem to be more likely than women without FGM/C to experience urinary tract infection, bacterial vaginosis, and pain during intercourse. •There seems to be a trend for women with FGM/C to be more likely than women without FGM/C to experience: burning/painful urination, problems with menstruation, vaginal discharge and vaginal itching. •There seems to be no clear trend for either a greater or lower risk of HIV and sexually transmitted infections among women who have undergone FGM/C. •There were insufficient data for us to conclude whether the risk of other gynecological complications (tissue damage, vaginal adhesions and obstructions, cysts, infertility) is different among women with FGM/C compared to women without FGM/C, and whether various FGM/C types differentially affect the risk of other gynecological complications (except regarding urinary tract infection). This systematic review found that sufficient evidence exist to conclude that women who have undergone FGM/C suffer a greater risk of gynecological complications than women who have not undergone the procedure. There were no indications of gynecological benefits of FGM/C. Rather, there is a real chance of under-reporting of many of the health issues covered in this systematic review

Project Status: Completed

Year Published: 2014

URL for published report: http://www.kunnskapssenteret.no/publikasjoner/gynecological-consequences-of-female-genital-mutila-tion-cutting-fgm-c?threepage=1

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: Norway

Organisation Name: Norwegian Institute of Public Health

Contact Address: Universitetsgata 2, Postbox 7004 St. Olavs plass, NO-0310 Oslo NORWAY. Tel: +47 23 25 50 00; Fax: +47 23 25 50 10;

Contact Name: Berit.Morland@nokc.no, dagny.fredheim@nokc.no

Contact Email: Berit.Morland@nokc.no, dagny.fredheim@nokc.no

Copyright: Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services (NOKC)