Obstetric fistulas are abnormal openings that form between the genital tract and the urinary tract, anus, or rectum. A rectovaginal fistula connects the anus or rectum with the vagina, allowing bowel contents to leak through the opening and pass through the vagina. A vesicovaginal fistula is a passage between the urinary bladder and the vagina, while a vesicouterine fistula is an opening between the bladder and the uterus. These fistulas connecting the bladder and the genital tract allow urine to flow into the vagina and leak out of the body involuntarily.

Even though obstetric fistulas are preventable and treatable, more than two million young women in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are estimated to live with untreated fistulas.