Considering the 700,000-plus live birth rate in the country, it is calculated that the prevalence of obstetric fistula is 0.3 to 0.6 every 1,000 deliveries

For many women in rural Nepal, motherhood comes at a cost. Maternal joys for them are merely momentary, and in most cases associated with stories of suffering.
Kalpana Rai’s harrowing experience of childbirth reflects the situation of a majority of women in remote parts of Nepal where access to roads and lack of healthcare facilities worsen the situation for women giving birth.

After the 32-year-old’s delivery turned complicated, the health post at her village in Bhojpur couldn’t do much. The nearest biggest hospital was miles away – she had to be carried on a stretcher by four men before being transported by road to BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in Dharan. But lack of proper antenatal checkup and quick access to healthcare facilities during labor meant her newborn had already died in the womb by the time she was in the hospital’s delivery room.