Kathmandu, Dec. 28 -- year-old woman from ward 5 of Champadevi Rural Municipality in Okhaldhunga district reached a nearby health post with ectopic bleeding and pelvic pain. Health workers there performed an ultrasound, which showed placenta previa, a condition where the placenta attaches low in the uterus.

"We referred the woman to the district hospital, but she returned home instead and only sought treatment after several days when the pain became severe," said Melina Magar, an auxiliary nurse midwife, who attended the patient. "Health workers saved the mother's life but could not save the foetus."

Magar is among hundreds of health workers serving in remote villages throughout the country who work tirelessly to save the lives of mothe...