An Indian nurse looks after five newborn babies, who are three months premature but healthy, from the same mother in a maternity ward at a private nursing home in the central Indian city of Bhopal April 6, 2006. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    KATHMANDU, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Nepal stands high in Maternal Death Rate (MDR) among the South Asian countries, local media reported on Saturday.

    According to a leading website, eKantipur.com report, 281 out of 100,000 mothers die untimely during the postnatal stage in Nepal, according to the statistics made public by the Federation of Safe Motherhood Network (FSMN) Saturday.

    Similarly, the FSMN also released statistics that say there are three infant deaths every hour and one maternal death every four hours.

    The MDR, which has reduced in the past few years, is still the highest in Nepal among the South Asian countries.

    FSMN President Dr Arju Deuba Rana said that the MDR can be reduced significantly by social awareness.

    The FSMN also indicated that lack of awareness about health facilities and weak access of the general public to the existing health facilities is responsible for the high MDR in the country.