LUSAKA, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Maamba Hospital in Sinazongwe district of Zambia has been handling about 16 cases of childbirth complications every month because of the adherence to traditional beliefs that only the husband is supposed to see his wife's nudity.

    Traditional beliefs in Maamba were so strong that efforts to sensitize people to delivery in hospitals yielded little success, Times of Zambia quoted medical superintendent Angel Mwiche at the hospital as saying on Tuesday.

    "Most women just want to deliver at home. So most maternal deaths are results of rupture uterus. The uterus ruptures occur at home and they come when they have bled too much," Mwiche said.

    It is usually difficult for medical staff to reverse the situation, according to the newspaper.

    "It's extremely difficult to change the mindset. When they come to the hospital with such complications, the cause is the husband. Traditional beliefs are very strong and destructive to some extent," he said.

    Teenage pregnancies were also common and contributed to childbirth complications, he added. Enditem