{"id":28667,"date":"2026-04-15T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=28667"},"modified":"2026-04-14T17:24:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T16:24:51","slug":"husband-stitch-the-controversial-after-birth-suture-that-puts-nigerian-women-at-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/husband-stitch-the-controversial-after-birth-suture-that-puts-nigerian-women-at-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Husband stitch\u2019: The controversial after-birth suture that puts Nigerian women at risk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Shattered, broken, traumatised, Faith has not been the same since she had her first child in 2023. \u201cI will never have another child again. Childbirth damaged me permanently,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It all started when she realised she was pregnant in October 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having lost her mum to childbirth when she was barely four years old, Faith was intentional about having her first child. From researching helpful guides on pre- and post-pregnancy to reading the experiences of mothers on social media, she actively prepared for the big day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She wanted to do everything right, to rewrite her mother\u2019s story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, nothing prepared her for her experience on April 23, 2023, when she eventually welcomed her child. A moment that was supposed to mark joy and fulfilment became the beginning of a haunting pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had a tear from my vagina down to my anus after delivery and had to be stitched. I was really screaming because the pain is out of this world,” she told DUBAWA, recounting her experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faith said she initially thought it was normal stitching to fix the tears associated with vaginal delivery, but later realised it also included the \u2018husband stitch,\u2019 a procedure that involves making the vagina tighter for sexual intimacy. \u201cWhen my husband came into the delivery room after the whole stitching, one of the midwives said to him, \u2018Oh, we made it tighter for you,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mother of one said the realisation worsened her postpartum trauma. She recounted how the pain in her vagina has persisted since childbirth, flaring up intermittently even though her son is now two-year-old. The recurring discomfort, she said, has taken both a physical and emotional toll on her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think part of the trauma affected me to the extent that I couldn\u2019t even produce breast milk. For over two weeks, I wasn\u2019t able to walk,\u201d Faith added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Faith spoke to DUBAWA about their experience. Source: DUBAWA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Prioritising sexual pleasure over women’s safety<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Husband stitch, also called daddy stitch or vagina knot, is an additional<\/strong><\/a> suture or series of sutures placed when repairing a vaginal laceration or episiotomy after childbirth, often with the purpose of tightening the vaginal introitus for the male partner’s sexual pleasure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Odunola Abiola, a gynaecologist and obstetrician at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, explained that the procedure involves an additional stitch beyond the one a woman is supposed to have after a tear during vaginal delivery, although it is not medically approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is called husband stitch because it is often framed as for the husband’s pleasure. It is to narrow the vaginal opening for the husband’s pleasure during sex,\u201d Caitlin LeMay, the executive director of the US End Female Genital Mutilation\/Cutting Network, told DUBAWA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While health officials who engage in it claimed <\/strong><\/a>that the procedure enhances sexual pleasure after childbirth, many women<\/strong><\/a> who underwent <\/a>it countered <\/strong><\/a>the narrative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faith explained that after the experience, her husband told her that her vagina did not get any tighter, undermining the very essence of the supposed procedure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe first time we tried to have sex, it was really difficult\u2014it wasn\u2019t pleasurable at all. I think for me to have sex now, it would take a lot. Maybe I\u2019d have to use lubricant or something, because I\u2019m still traumatised,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other experiences<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hassana, a mother of five children in Kontagora, Niger state, also said the procedure worsened her sexual experience. \u201cThe pain is so much, and it has made me detest sex,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA\u2019s findings revealed that in many cases, health officials administer the so-called \u201chusband stitch\u201d without the woman\u2019s consent<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t fully conscious when doctors put the husband stitch. I don\u2019t know if they asked my husband for permission,\u201d Hassana, who operates as a commercial pepper grinder, disclosed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our findings show that some women only become aware of the procedure afterwards, either when birth attendants mention it as a favour supposedly done for their benefit, or during conversations between health officials and their husbands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Ibadan-based lady, who pleaded anonymity, said the procedure takes advantage of women in their most vulnerable state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one asked me whether I wanted it or not; consent was not sought at all, but I remember the doctor said to me, \u2018I made it tighter for your husband,\u2019 with a smug smile on his face. At that point, I could not make sense of what he was saying because I was still in the labour ward. It was after everything that it all started to make sense to me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zainab, a woman based in Kaduna, also said her consent was not sought, but confessed her husband mentioned her vagina got tighter and \u201che enjoys sex even more.\u201d She faulted the idea behind the husband stitch and argued that women\u2019s consent should be sought before performing such a procedure on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another woman, who told DUBAWA her consent was sought, said she did not like the eventual outcome. \u201cI feel that as much as they do it for the husband\u2019s pleasure, it shouldn\u2019t be at that period in time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Qudus Lawal, a consultant gynaecologist at Irrua Specialist Hospital in Edo state, described the procedure as \u201ca form of medical malpractice,\u201d particularly when performed without a woman\u2019s consent. He told DUBAWA that any medical procedure done without informed consent amounts to malpractice, regardless of the intent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dr Qudus Lawal, Gynaecologist <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A major conversation over the procedure is the intent, which places the sexual satisfaction of men over the safety of women, despite global maternal death figures. According to a UNICEF report<\/strong><\/a>, Nigeria is among countries with \u201cthe highest risks\u201d of maternal death, with one in 25 cases recorded. In spite of this disturbing reality, some health officials engage in husband stitch, a procedure considered medically unsafe and with no proven health benefit to women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2024 report published<\/strong><\/a> by the International Continence Society (ICS) revealed that the husband stitch exposes women to health complications, including vulvar and vaginal pain, scarring, dyspareunia, and trauma. The report established that roughly 85% of births result in vaginal lacerations or episiotomy, leaving many women vulnerable to undergoing the \u201chusband stitch.\u201d It added that while repair of a tear or cut in the perineum may be medically necessary, an extra stitch, or \u201chusband stitch,\u201d has no documented medical benefit to the patient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe whole idea of the husband’s stitch to me is barbaric. Why should there be an extra stitch because you feel like it will make sex pleasurable for you? What about the person who is feeling the pain? There’s no part of the husband’s stitch to me that should be okay,\u201d Faith quipped, burning with rage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnybody who administered it, who even thinks of it, should be arrested, and I’m saying without no prejudice that if I had known at that time, I know the steps I would have taken. However, since it’s been a long time, I’m no longer in that state. I will just maybe let it go, but one of the things I’m doing is to lend my voice, consent or not, husband stitch should not happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018It\u2019s good for our oga\u2019 \u2013 The narratives promoting husband stitch<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Findings by DUBAWA revealed that many women who consented to the procedure did so, not for any medical benefit, but out of the belief that it would help them satisfy their husbands and preserve their marriages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Videos and posts analysed on social media showed some women encouraging pregnant and expectant mothers to ensure they request the procedure from the health officials during delivery and brace the pain associated with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGree ooo, chop the pain, you\u2019ll be fine. Mom to mom: better bear the pain and let your midwife give you husband stitches o,\u201d a new mum was seen advising<\/a> women in one of the videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In another video clip<\/strong><\/a>, Ononiwu Perpetual, who identified herself as a registered nurse, was heard advising women to request the procedure during childbirth, whether or not they experienced a vaginal tear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a secret. Whether you have a tear or not, just tell them to give you the husband stitch, so that the vagina becomes tighter. It is good for your oga (husband) to enjoy (sex) well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking with DUBAWA, a lady who simply identified as Deborah, said she requested a husband stitch during childbirth and admitted that it comes with severe pains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She, however, advised people to look at the \u2018bigger gain.\u2019 \u201cIt\u2019s painful, I think it\u2019s worth it, especially after healing,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Husband stitch lacks scientific justification\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Speaking with DUBAWA, Dr Abiola described the \u201chusband stitch\u201d as a form of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and strongly condemned the practice. She explained that FGM has several classifications, and any form of genital alteration done for non-medical reasons, including the so-called \u201chusband stitch,\u201d falls under this category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said the procedure has \u201cno scientific or clinical justification\u201d and is not recognised in standard obstetric or gynaecological practice. \u201cIt is not part of the normal repair done after childbirth,\u201d she noted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gynaecologist and obstetrician said the idea behind it, which is to make sexual intercourse more pleasurable for the husband, is both unethical and medically baseless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Abiola warned that the practice can cause serious complications such as pain, scarring, and painful intercourse (dyspareunia), which defeats its supposed purpose. She added that since individuals heal differently, the procedure could even make sex uncomfortable or impossible for some women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She further described the act as a form of obstetric violence and medical misconduct, stressing that it violates both local and international medical standards. \u201cThe World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists frown at such practices. If you look at the potential harm that it causes, you would not encourage a patient to do that,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to its potential health implications, she advised that no professional medical practitioner should perform the procedure under any circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corroborating her, LeMay said husband stitch should be recognised and treated under the same legal framework that criminalises FGM since it constitutes \u201cinjury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She argued that husband stitch constitutes \u201ca violation of human rights and a form of gender-based violence,\u201d as it infringes on a \u201cwoman\u2019s bodily autonomy and strips away her right to consent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The executive director of the US End Female Genital Mutilation\/Cutting Network said that by intentionally altering a woman\u2019s body for another person\u2019s pleasure, the act becomes both violent and dehumanising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LeMay also canvassed global efforts to address FGM and close legislative gaps that allow practices like husband stitch to thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Section 6 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act of 2015 (VAPP<\/a> Act) criminalises female genital mutilation. However, there is no specific indication of the husband stitch as a type of female genital mutilation under these laws, though health practitioners who spoke with DUBAWA said it could fall under Types III and IV of the FGM definition by WHO. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Type 3 FGM (infibulation), according to the WHO<\/a>, is the narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. \u201cThe seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the labia minora, or labia majora, sometimes through stitching, with or without removal of the clitoral prepuce\/clitoral hood and glans,\u201d the body explained. While Type 4 includes all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g., pricking, piercing, incising, scraping, and cauterising the genital area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Husband stitch a myth, unnecessary\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dr Lawal noted that there is no proven benefit of the husband stitch to improve sexual pleasure.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis procedure (husband stitch), in reality, is more of a myth than something that really works. It\u2019s yet to be proven that it really helps to improve sexual intercourse,\u201d he told DUBAWA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gynaecologist said that while some women may request the stitch to address vaginal laxity after childbirth, such tightening is often unnecessary. According to him, the body naturally heals over time, and the vagina typically regains sufficient tone for normal sexual activity without surgical intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He advised women concerned about post-delivery changes to consult specialists such as female genital cosmetic surgeons, who are trained to perform safe and appropriate restorative procedures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Lawal said after delivery, women can engage in pelvic floor exercises like Kegels<\/em>, which strengthen the muscles around the vaginal outlet naturally and effectively. He warned that unnecessary tightening procedures often cause more harm than good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe procedure (husband stitch) can sometimes be counterproductive, meaning that you may end up making the patient have gynatresia, which means the vaginal outlet becomes too small for sexual intercourse,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Husband stitch a form of medical misogyny\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Idara Umoette, founder and CEO of Bedsafe Nigeria, a digital antenatal service supporting women across Nigeria and in more than 20 countries, said a husband\u2019s stitch is a grave violation of medical ethics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The medical expert explained that the procedure constitutes \u201cboth medical malpractice and medical misogyny\u201d since it has no legitimate medical basis and the fact that it is often carried out solely for the husband\u2019s benefit and, in many cases, without the woman\u2019s informed consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen a woman, still trying to heal and come to terms with the changes in her body after childbirth, unknowingly has an extra suture inserted at the opening of her vagina simply to enhance her husband\u2019s sexual pleasure, it crosses the line. It is unethical, it is exploitative, and it is an affront to medical ethics and womanhood,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Umoette said medical professionals who perform it (husband stitch) can face disciplinary action from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), including \u201csuspension or revocation of their licenses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also explained that an affected patient has several avenues for redress. The Birthsafe Nigeria founder said the first step is to file a formal complaint with the MDCN, which reviews the case and decides on the appropriate disciplinary action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond disciplinary measures, she noted that a victim can also seek financial compensation to cover the emotional and physical trauma experienced, especially if corrective surgery is required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose are the three steps that she can take,\u201d  she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Non-professionals administering husband stitch\u2019 \u2013 SOGON<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reacting to DUBAWA\u2019s findings, the Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians of Nigeria (SOGON) stated that the husband stitch is not a practice employed by qualified medical professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Modupe Adedeji, secretary of the Lagos state chapter of the body, claimed such unethical procedures often arise from non-professionals or untrained birth attendants who operate outside medical standards but are, unfortunately, trusted by many within communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gynaecologist-obstetrician at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) explained that SOGON is currently discussing the role of traditional birth attendants in maternal care, particularly the limits of their involvement in managing pregnancies and deliveries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Adedeji maintained that practices like the husband stitch most likely emerge from informal quarters rather than from licensed gynaecologists who understand the risks and implications of genital mutilation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gynaecologist-obstetrician, who also described the husband stitch as a form of FGM, said the procedure \u201cbetrays the ethics and integrity of medical practice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow can a trained professional who fully understands the dangers of mutilation be the one to inflict it? At SOGON, we champion and guide the rights of women,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the women interviewed by DUBAWA all had their children at accredited hospitals. However, when DUBAWA confronted hospital officials, they feigned ignorance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the National <\/a>Policy & Plan of Action for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria (2021-2025), the issue of medicalisation of FGM was addressed. The World Health Organisation had defined <\/a>FGM medicalisation as the involvement of any category of health-care provider in the practice of FGM, whether in a public or a private clinic, at home or elsewhere. It also includes the procedure of reinfibulation at any point in a woman\u2019s life. However, none of these documents made a specific reference to the concept of \u2018husband stitch\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Faith to Hassana, husband stitch has inflicted years-long pain on many women during childbirth, and without any action taken, more women are at risk of facing a similar trauma. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will authorities take any action to stop the practice? Time will tell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we presented our findings to the Federal Ministry of Health, officials appreciated the report and highlighted its potential to expand the ministry’s knowledge on the issue. However, they failed to respond when DUBAWA followed up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also watch the documentary on YouTube<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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