Symptoms of obstetric fistula include:

- Flatulence, urinary or fecal incontinence, which may be continual or only happen at night

- Foul-smelling vaginal discharge

- Repeated vaginal or urinary tract infections

- Irritation or pain in the vagina or surrounding areas

- Pain during sexual activity

Other effects of obstetric fistulae include stillborn babies due to prolonged labor, which happens 85% to 100% of the time, severe ulcerations of the vaginal tract, "foot drop", which is the paralysis of the lower limbs caused by nerve damage, making it impossible for women to walk, infection of the fistula forming an abscess, and up to two-thirds of the women become amenorrhoeic.

Obstetric fistulae have far-reaching physical, social, economic, and psychological consequences for the women affected.

According to UNFPA, “Due to the prolonged obstructed labour, the baby almost inevitably dies, and the woman is left with chronic incontinence. Unable to control the flow of urine or faeces, or both, she may be abandoned by her husband and family and ostracized by her community. Without treatment, her prospects for work and family life are virtually non-existent.”

The most direct consequence of an obstetric fistula is the constant leaking of urine, feces, and blood as a result of a hole that forms between the vagina and bladder or rectum. This leaking has both physical and societal penalties. The acid in the urine, feces, and blood causes severe burn wounds on the legs from the continuous dripping. Nerve damage that can result from the leaking can cause women to struggle with walking and eventually lose mobility. In an attempt to avoid the dripping, women limit their intake of water and liquid which can ultimately lead to dangerous cases of dehydration. Ulceration and infections can persist, as well as kidney disease and kidney failure, which can each lead to death. Further, only a quarter of women who suffer a fistula in their first birth are able to have a living baby, and therefore have minuscule chances of conceiving a healthy baby later on. Some women, due to obstetric fistulae and other complications from childbirth, do not survive.

An obstetric labor complication is a difficulty or abnormality that arises during the process of labor or delivery.

An example is dystocia.

Obstructed labour, also known as labour dystocia, is when, even though the uterus is contracting normally, the baby does not exit the pelvis during childbirth due to being physically blocked. Complications for the baby include not getting enough oxygen which may result in death. It increases the risk of the mother getting an infection, having uterine rupture, or having post-partum bleeding. Long term complications for the mother include obstetrical fistula. Obstructed labour is said to result in prolonged labour, when the active phase of labour is longer than twelve hours.

The main causes of obstructed labour include: a large or abnormally positioned baby, a small pelvis, and problems with the birth canal. Abnormal positioning includes shoulder dystocia where the anterior shoulder does not pass easily below the pubic bone. Risk factors for a small pelvis include malnutrition and a lack of exposure to sunlight causing vitamin D deficiency. It is also more common in adolescence as the pelvis may not have finished growing. Problems with the birth canal include a narrow vagina and perineum which may be due to female genital mutilation or tumors. A partograph is often used to track labour progression and diagnose problems. This combined with physical examination may identify obstructed labour.

The treatment of obstructed labour may require cesarean section or vacuum extraction with possible surgical opening of the symphysis pubis. Other measures include: keeping the women hydrated and antibiotics if the membranes have been ruptured for more than 18 hours. In Africa and Asia obstructed labor affects between two and five percent of deliveries. In 2015 about 6.5 million cases of obstructed labour or uterine rupture occurred. This resulted in 23,000 maternal deaths down from 29,000 deaths in 1990 (about 8% of all deaths related to pregnancy). It is also one of the leading causes of stillbirth. Most deaths due to this condition occur in the developing world.

A urerovaginal fistula is a result of trauma, infection, pelvic surgery, radiation treatment and therapy, malignancy, or inflammatory bowel disease. Symptoms can be troubling for women especially since some clinicians delay treatment until inflammation is reduced and stronger tissue has formed. The fistula may develop as a maternal birth injury from a long and protracted labor, long dilation time and expulsion period. Difficult deliveries can create pressure necrosis in the tissue that is being pushed between the head of the infant and the softer tissues of the vagina, ureters, and bladder.

Radiographic imaging can assist clinicians in identifying the abnormality. A Ureterovaginal fistula is always indicative of an obstructed kidney necessitating emergency intervention followed later by an elective surgical repair of the fistula.

A ureterovaginal fistula is an abnormal passageway existing between the ureter and the vagina. It presents as urinary incontinence. Its impact on women is to reduce the "quality of life dramatically."

A rectovaginal fistula is a medical condition where there is a fistula or abnormal connection between the rectum and the vagina.

Rectovaginal fistula may be extremely debilitating. If the opening between the rectum and vagina is wide it will allow both flatulence and feces to escape through the vagina, leading to fecal incontinence. There is an association with recurrent urinary and vaginal infections. The fistula may also connect the rectum and urethra, which is called recto-urethral fistula. Either conditions can lead to labial fusion. This type of fistula can cause pediatricians to misdiagnose imperforate anus. The severity of the symptoms will depend on the size of fistula. Most often, it appears after about one week or so after delivery.

The main causes of obstructed labour include: a large or abnormally positioned baby, a small pelvis, and problems with the birth canal. Abnormal positioning includes shoulder dystocia where the anterior shoulder does not pass easily below the pubic bone. Risk factors for a small pelvis include malnutrition and a lack of exposure to sunlight causing vitamin D deficiency. while problems with the birth canal include a narrow vagina and perineum which may be due to female genital mutilation or tumors.

Rectovaginal fistulas are often the result of trauma during childbirth (in which case it is known as obstetric fistula) where improper medical interventions are used, such as episiotomy with forceps/vacuum extraction or in situations where there is inadequate health care, such as in some developing countries. Rectovaginal fistula is said to be known as the leading cause in maternal death in developing countries. Risk factors include prolonged labour, difficult instrumental delivery and paramedian episiotomy. Rates in Eritrea are estimated as high as 350 per 100,000 vaginal births. Fistulas can also develop as a result of physical trauma to either the vagina or anus, including from rape. Women with rectovaginal fistulae are often stigmatized in developing countries, and become outcasts.

Rectovaginal fistula can also be a symptom of various diseases, including infection by lymphogranuloma venereum, or the unintended result of surgery, such as episiotomy or sexual reassignment surgery. They may present as a complication of vaginal surgery, including vaginal hysterectomy. They are a recognized presentation of rectal carcinoma or rarely diverticular disease of the bowel or Crohn's disease. They are seen rarely after radiotherapy treatment for cervical cancer.

Vesicovaginal fistula, or VVF, is an abnormal fistulous tract extending between the bladder (or vesico) and the vagina that allows the continuous involuntary discharge of urine into the vaginal vault.

In addition to the medical sequela from these fistulas, they often have a profound effect on the patient's emotional well-being.

Anal fistulae can present with the following symptoms:

- skin maceration

- pus, serous fluid and/or (rarely) feces discharge — can be bloody or purulent

- pruritus ani — itching

- depending on presence and severity of infection:

Vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) is a subtype of female urogenital fistula (UGF).

Hydrocolpos is the distension of the vagina caused by accumulation of fluid due to congenital vaginal obstruction. The obstruction is often caused by an imperforate hymen or less commonly a transverse vaginal septum. The fluid consists of cervical and endometrial mucus or in rare instances urine accumulated through a vesicovaginal fistula proximal to the obstruction. In some cases it is associated with Bardet-Biedl Syndrome. If it occurs in prepubertal girls, it may show up as abdominal swelling. It may be detected by using ultrasound. It may also present at birth as a distended lower abdomen and vagina. It also associated with vaginal atresia.

Depending on their relationship with the internal and external sphincter muscles, fistulae are classified into five types:

- Extrasphincteric fistulae begin at the rectum or sigmoid colon and proceed downward, through the levator ani muscle and open into the skin surrounding the anus. Note that this type does not arise from the dentate line (where the anal glands are located). Causes of this type could be from a rectal, pelvic or supralevator origin, usually secondary to Crohn's disease or an inflammatory process such as appendiceal or diverticular abscesses.

- Suprasphincteric fistulae begin between the internal and external sphincter muscles, extend above and cross the puborectalis muscle, proceed downward between the puborectalis and levator ani muscles, and open an inch or more away from the anus.

- Transphincteric fistulae begin between the internal and external sphincter muscles or behind the anus, cross the external sphincter muscle and open an inch or more away from the anus. These may take a 'U' shape and form multiple external openings. This is sometimes termed a 'horseshoe fistula.'

- Intersphincteric fistulae begin between the internal and external sphincter muscles, pass through the internal sphincter muscle, and open very close to the anus.

- Submucosal fistulae pass superficially beneath the submucosa and do not cross either sphincter muscle.

A Cervical pregnancy is an ectopic pregnancy that has implanted in the uterine endocervix. Such a pregnancy typically aborts within the first trimester, however, if it is implanted closer to the uterine cavity - a so-called cervico-isthmic pregnancy - it may continue longer. Placental removal in a cervical pregnancy may result in major hemorrhage.

If a colostomy is not performed immediately after birth, patients with rectovestibular fistulae may present later in life with complications including severe constipation and megacolon (abnormal dilation of the colon), requiring colostomy or further surgery.

The diagnosis is made in asymptomatic pregnant women either by inspection seeing a bluish discolored cervix or, more commonly, by obstetric ultrasonography. A typical non-specific symptom is vaginal bleeding during pregnancy. Ultrasound will show the location of the gestational sac in the cervix, while the uterine cavity is "empty". Cervical pregnancy can be confused with a miscarriage when pregnancy tissue is passing through the cervix.

Histologically the diagnosis has been made by Rubin’s criteria on the surgical specimen: cervical glands are opposite the trophoblastic tissue, the trophoblastic attachment is below the entrance of the uterine vessels to the uterus or the anterior peritoneal reflection, and fetal elements are absent from the uterine corpus. As many pregnancies today are diagnosed early and no hysterectomy is performed, Rubin's criteria can often not be applied.

A rectovestibular fistula, also referred to simply as a vestibular fistula, is an anorectal congenital disorder where an abnormal connection (fistula) exists between the rectum and the vulval vestibule of the female genitalia.

If the fistula occurs within the hymen, it is known as a rectovaginal fistula, a much rarer condition.

Couvelaire uterus (also known as uteroplacental apoplexy) is a life-threatening condition in which loosening of the placenta (abruptio placentae) causes bleeding that penetrates into the uterine myometrium forcing its way into the peritoneal cavity.

Anorectal anomalies are medical problems affecting the structure of the anus and rectum. A person with an anorectal problem would have some sort of deformative feature of the anus or rectum, collectively known as an anorectal malformation.

Examples of anorectal anomalies include:

- Anal stenosis

- Imperforate anus

- Proctitis

- Anal bleeding

- Anal fistula

- Anal cancer

- Anal itching

- Hemorrhoid (piles)

Patients can have pain secondary to uterine contractions, uterine tetany or localized uterine tenderness. Signs can also be due to abruptio placentae including uterine hypertonus, fetal distress, fetal death, and rarely, hypovolaemic shock (shock secondary to severe blood loss). The uterus may adopt a bluish/purplish, mottled appearance due to extravasation of blood into uterine muscle.

Complications like swelling, watery eyes and infection might occur. While usually filled with sterile mucus, dacryocystoceles occasionally become infected.

Dacryocystocele or timo cyst is a benign, bluish-gray mass in the inferomedial canthus that forms as a result of a narrowing or obstruction of the nasolacrimal duct, usually during prenatal development. The prevalence of dacryocystocele is 1 in 3884 live births.

Fistulas can develop in various parts of the body. The following list is sorted by the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems.

A fistula is an abnormal connection between two hollow spaces (technically, two epithelialized surfaces), such as blood vessels, intestines, or other hollow organs. Fistulas are usually caused by injury or surgery, but they can also result from an infection or inflammation. Fistulas are generally a disease condition, but they may be surgically created for therapeutic reasons.

In botany, the term is most common in its adjectival forms, where it is used in binomial names to refer to species that are distinguished by hollow or tubular structures. Monarda fistulosa, for example, has tubular flowers; Eutrochium fistulosum has a tubular stem; and Allium fistulosum has hollow or tubular leaves.