SynthesisBMJ global health2020
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the consequences of female genital mutilation on maternal and perinatal health outcomes in European and African countries.
Synthesis in BMJ global health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Deinfibulation for improving obstetric, neonatal, gynecologic, and sexual health outcomes in women and girls with type III female genital mutilation: A systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2026Pooled it
- Short message service (SMS) reminders for childhood immunisation in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ global health · 2021Pooled it
- Exploring potential factors influencing perinatal mental health in Kajiado County, Kenya: a qualitative study with mothers and healthcare workers.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices for Care of Women and Girls With FGM/C - A Survey of Health Workers at Swiss University Hospitals.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2026Article
- Attitudes toward female circumcision among Senegalese women: a national analysis of sociocultural and economic determinants.Contraception and reproductive medicine · 2026Article
- Lived experiences and impacts of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C): a meta-ethnographic synthesis.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Healthcare and community perspectives on female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C): a qualitative study.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- Factors associated with female genital mutilation/cutting in Tanzania: insights from Tanzania demographic and health survey 2022.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- Prevalence and determinants of female genital mutilation: current insights from ten at-risk countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Female genital mutilation/cutting in women delivering in France: An observational national study.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2025Observational
- Article
- Vulnerabilities and reparative strategies during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period: moving from rhetoric to action.EClinicalMedicine · 2024Review
- Comment on: "Health outcomes and female genital mutilation/cutting: how much is due to the cutting itself?"International journal of impotence research · 2023Article
- Legal Awareness and Practices of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) among United Arab Emirates Medical Practitioners.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- The relationship between dominant Western discourse and personal narratives of female genital cutting: exploring storytelling among Swedish-Somali girls and women.Frontiers in sociology · 2023Article
- Assessment of complications associated with female genital cutting among postnatal women in Chuko Primary Hospital, Sidama region, Southern Ethiopia.SAGE open medicine · 2023Article
- Female Genital Mutilation, Sexual Quality of Life and Marital Relationship: A Case-Control Study From Iran.Journal of family & reproductive health · 2022Article
- Risk of obstetric anal sphincter injury associated with female genital mutilation/cutting and timing of deinfibulation.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2022Article
- A prospective cohort study of the relationship of female genital mutilation with birth outcomes in Somalia.BMC women's health · 2022Article
- Diagnoses and procedures of inpatients with female genital mutilation/cutting in Swiss University Hospitals: a cross-sectional study.Reproductive health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionKey knowledge gaps remain to improve reproductive health outcomes for millions of women living with female genital mutilation (FGM). We aimed to update previous reviews and quantify more rigorously maternal and perinatal complications related to FGM across different settings.
methodsIn this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched 15 electronic databases for studies published between 1 August 1995 and 15 March 2020, reporting on maternal and perinatal complications related to FGM. We included studies comparing women with and without FGM while accounting for confounders. Pooled relative risks (RR) were calculated, using fixed-effects and random-effects models, for a range of maternal and perinatal outcomes, adjusting for individual characteristics and according to delivery settings and study design.
resultsWe identified 106 unique references, assessed 72 full-text articles and included 11 studies. We found non-significant elevated risks of instrumental delivery, caesarean delivery, episiotomy, postpartum haemorrhage, perineal laceration, low Apgar score and miscarriage/stillbirth related to FGM. Heterogeneity was present for most outcomes when combining all studies but reduced in subgroup analyses. The risk of caesarean delivery was increased among primiparous women (1.79, 95% CI 1.04 to 3.07) such as the risk of episiotomy in European specialised settings for women with FGM (1.88, 1.14 to 3.09). In Africa, subgroup analyses revealed elevated risks of postpartum haemorrhage (2.59, 1.28 to 5.25). The most common reported type was FGM II. However, few studies provided stratified analyses by type of FGM, which did not allow an assessment of the impact of the severity of typology on studied outcomes.
conclusionThis review suggests maternal and perinatal morbidity related to FGM vary by study design, context and by subgroup of women. Our study also draws attention to the complications that may extend to the postpartum period. This work contributes to shaping a reference framework for future research and clinical guidelines.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.