Move to hospital deliveries saves mothers, infants in Tibet

"It (a hospital) was ominous," she said. "People would die if they gave birth there."

Even pregnancy itself should be kept secret, according to traditional thinking. If anyone knew, or so the belief went, the mother would suffer life-threatening difficulties while in labor.

Besides superstition, many Tibetan women also hold conservative beliefs that keep them out of hospitals.

Lhagyi, 28, of Copu Village is the mother of two boys. But she can still remembered how, six years ago when she was about to have her first child, she was reluctant to go to a hospital.

"I was young and shy," she said, flushing. In her traditional Tibetan robes, with her hair in plaits, she looked much younger than her age. "I didn't want to remove my clothes in front of strangers."

Lhaze, with a population of some 50,000 and an altitude of 4,010 meters, is about 200 kilometers from Mount Qommolangma (or Mount Everest) and among the impoverished counties in China.