Move to hospital deliveries saves mothers, infants in Tibet

Among the trainees was 59-year-old Lhapa Gela of Copu Village.

"I have worked for women in our village for 30 years and I started to educate people about hospital delivery in 2002," she said.

She showed a reporter a worn-out black notebook, in which she had carefully recorded her training in the Tibetan language. She had also logged the names and ages of the 500 women in her 1,000-person village.

"I have three children and the youngest is 24 now. All of them were born at home," she said.

"Although they are healthy, I felt weak after my deliveries due to blood loss." After delivering her youngest, she fainted on the way to the toilet.

Drawing on her experience, Lhapa decided to encourage fellow villagers not to repeat her suffering.

But the job was tough at first. When she approached Lhagyi, the woman's mother-in-law argued with her.

"Will you help us with the chores if we go to a hospital?" she said. Lhapa replied: "I will find someone to do the chores for you, if you really have difficulty."