An obstetric fistula is an opening between the vagina and the bladder that occurs during prolonged obstructed labor. As the hours pass and labor continues, the baby’s skull presses the connective tissue between the vagina and the bladder against the pelvic bones. If this goes on for a while, the tissue can die and a hole can develop between the vagina and the bladder—a vesico-vaginal fistula. It can also happen to tissue between the vagina and the rectum, causing a recto-vaginal fistula. When this happens the woman will lose stool through her vagina.