To the Editor:

I was most pleased to read your joint message with WOCN President Jan Colwell, in the November/December 2007 issue of the Journal of WOCN (Vol. 34, No. 6) regarding "Traumatic Vaginal Fistulae in Developing Countries." This followed my attendance at a presentation by Jane Roberts, cofounder of 34 Million Friends of the UNFPA, and reading her book, 34 Million Friends of the Women of the World. As the saying "timing is everything" goes, timing was perfect to help me realize that I wanted to do more to help this crisis affecting young women in underdeveloped countries. In an ideal world, WOC nurses would be able to join with Jane Roberts, an advocate and educator, to do the same sharing of information, developing support for advocacy in our country, and promoting education of the young women who are having babies prior to their bodies being physically able to sustain a healthy pregnancy and a safe birthing process. This can be achieved by direct coalition with the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA (formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities).

I realize that the WOCN is a professional group focusing on the quality of health care services rendered in our specialties. However, nursing is also a profession for preventing medical calamities into which category the problem of vaginal fistulae falls. If this is a viable possibility, I would like to pursue development of a coalition as described above. Through volunteer commitments in my community, I have formulated coalitions for presenting educational forums about domestic violence, contraception accessibility, teen suicide prevention, and more. This would be a considerably larger undertaking with the potential for dramatic results.

Gloria R. Brown, BSN, RN, COCN, CCCN