Faculty Collaboration Database

Diagnosis, Management, and Treatment of Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting in Girls. Pediatrics 2020 Aug;146(2)

Date

07/29/2020

Pubmed ID

32719089

DOI

10.1542/peds.2020-1012

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85089129754 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   20 Citations

Abstract

Female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) involves medically unnecessary cutting of parts or all of the external female genitalia. It is outlawed in the United States and much of the world but is still known to occur in more than 30 countries. FGM/C most often is performed on children, from infancy to adolescence, and has significant morbidity and mortality. In 2018, an estimated 200 million girls and women alive at that time had undergone FGM/C worldwide. Some estimate that more than 500 000 girls and women in the United States have had or are at risk for having FGM/C. However, pediatric prevalence of FGM/C is only estimated given that most pediatric cases remain undiagnosed both in countries of origin and in the Western world, including in the United States. It is a cultural practice not directly tied to any specific religion, ethnicity, or race and has occurred in the United States. Although it is mostly a pediatric practice, currently there is no standard FGM/C teaching required for health care providers who care for children, including pediatricians, family physicians, child abuse pediatricians, pediatric urologists, and pediatric urogynecologists. This clinical report is the first comprehensive summary of FGM/C in children and includes education regarding a standard-of-care approach for examination of external female genitalia at all health supervision examinations, diagnosis, complications, management, treatment, culturally sensitive discussion and counseling approaches, and legal and ethical considerations.

Author List

Young J, Nour NM, Macauley RC, Narang SK, Johnson-Agbakwu C, SECTION ON GLOBAL HEALTH, COMMITTEE ON MEDICAL LIABILITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT, COMMITTEE ON BIOETHICS

Author

Sandeep K. Narang MD, JD Chief, Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Child
Child Abuse
Cicatrix
Circumcision, Female
Clinical Competence
Confidentiality
Documentation
Female
Female Urogenital Diseases
Gynecologic Surgical Procedures
Humans
Infertility, Female
Informed Consent
International Classification of Diseases
Mandatory Reporting
Medical History Taking
Mental Health
Pain
Pediatricians
Physical Examination
Prevalence
Refugees
Sexuality