Health workers at refugee camps in Chad are keeping a close eye on pregnant women who may face potential complications in child birth due to mutilated genitalia.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said women who have suffered genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) can tear during child birth.
These tears can lead to painful and uncontrollable urination and may need multiple surgeries to heal.
Since September last year, one camp in eastern Chad has recorded some 22 pre-natal refugees who were found to have been cut.
But aid workers said girls are also being cut in the camps, with nearly 60 incidents recorded in 2009.
Nassourou Drassadou, camp health director, said some 10% of prenatal patients at the camp at Djabal faced a high risk of complications during birth in part due to FGM/C.
He said: "Despite efforts to wipe out FGM/C we know it is still happening."
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