Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about female genital mutilation.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com slash FGM or in the gynecology section of the Zero to Fin, obstetrics and kiney book. So let's get straight

into it. Female genital mutilation shortened to FGM involves surgically changing the genitals of a female

for non-medical reasons. FGM is a cultural practice that usually occurs in girls before puberty.

It's a form of child abuse and it's a significant safeguarding issue.

Female genital mutilation is illegal as stated in the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003

and there's a legal requirement for healthcare professionals to report

cases of FGM to the police. Let's talk about the epidemiology of female genital mutilation.

UNICEF provides information and data on the epidemiology. FGM is a common cultural practice in many African countries. Somalia has the

highest levels of FGM in any country. Other countries with high rates are Ethiopia, Sudan, and Eritrea.

It also occurs in Yemen, Kurdistan, Indonesia and various parts of South and Western Asia.

Let's talk about the types. There's four types of female genital mutilation. Type 1 is where there's

removal of part or all of the clitoris. Type 2 is where there's removal of part or all of the clitoris and the labia minora,

and the labia majora may also be removed.

Type 3 is where there's narrowing or closing of the vaginal orifice,

which is called infibulation.

And then type 4 includes all other unnecessary procedures to the female genitalia.

Let's talk about identifying cases of FGM.

It's important to recognise risk factors for FGM and identify and ideally prevent cases from occurring.

Two key risk factors to bear in mind are coming from a community that practices FGM and having relatives affected by FGM.

There are scenarios where it's worth considering the risk of FGM, and these are pregnant women

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