Background: An obstetric fistula is a hole in the wall of the vagina connectingrnto the bladder or rectum that is caused by prolonged and obstructed labor. As arnresult the girl or woman is left with uncontrollable leaking of urine and/or fecesrnfrom her vagina, and constant and humiliating odor and wetness. Compoundingrnthis catastrophic physical trauma, in almost all cases, the woman suffers the loss ofrnher baby. Without treatment women are frequently ostracized from theirrncommunities out of shame. Some are rejected or abandoned by husbands andrnfamilies. Many are unable to work or earn a living, driving them deeper intornpovertyrn(21).rnCoping responses are a dynamic series of transactions between thernindividual and the environment, the purpose of which is to regulate internal statesrnand/or alter the person-environment relations. The theory postulates that stressfulrnemotions and coping are due to cognitions associated with the way a personrnappraises or perceives his/her relationship with the environmentrn22.rnThis study isrnconducted to determine the levels of stress and coping mechanisms used by womenrnliving with obstetric fistula admitted at Fistula hospital in Addis Ababa.rnObjective: To determine the sources and levels of stress, and copingrnmechanisms of women living with obstetric fistula.rnMethodology: Institution based retrospective cross sectional study wasrnconducted at Addis Ababa fistula hospital from April 2009 to June 2009. Valid andrnreliable questionnaire administered to all eligible women admitted to the facilityrnduring the study period. Participants were surveyed with a demographic data sheet,rnstress, and ways of coping questionnaire and in-depth semi-structured interviewsrnand then processed and analyzed using SPSS software version 17.rnResults: Finding of this study showed that, the most frequently encounteredrnsources of stress are internal stressors with highest mean and standard deviationrn61.81(11.35) followed by external stressors 27.01 mean and 7.09 SD. The leastrnsources of stressors among these women were, situational stressors having Meanrnand SD 26.280(8.06). The coping strategy used most frequently among these studyrnsubjects was Planful problem solving, Mean and SD 20.341(3.856) and escape-rnavoidance 15.522 Mean and 3.841 SD. The less common utilized coping strategyrnamong theses women was Confrontive coping having 3.806 Mean and 1.503rnstandard deviation.rnConclusions: Women with obstetric fistula are exposed to many stressfulrnsituations as a result of their problem, and these stressful situations are occurringrnwith differing degree. Women utilize different coping mechanisms in order to avertrntheir problem, identification of the type of stressor and itâ€™s level and coping strategyrnhas a paramount importance.rnRecommendation: The care that we provide to mothers must be anrnunderstanding and of holistic type which encompasses education, literacy training,rnthe development of social networks, and the provision of skills with which to earn an adequate livelihood