Maternal Mortality in India: Hanna Ingber

June 17, 2010 | CBC Radio

Bhangru Lohar stands with his two sons outside their home in a tea plantation in Assam, a state in northeastern India. A month earlier, Bhangru's wife died while pregnant with the family's third child.

Women pick tea leaves in a nearby plantation in upper Assam. Bhangru's wife, Sulekha Lohar, worked as a tea leaf plucker.

Bhangru's father, Rama Lohar, sits outside his home. His family has lived and worked in this tea plantation for generations.

A young woman washes dishes at a handpump outside Rama Lohar's home.

A relative prepares dinner in Rama Lohar's kitchen.

A neighbor sifts rice near Rama Lohar's home.

Rama Lohar rides his bicycle through the tea garden.

Freelance journalist Hanna Ingber Win's photos, from the tea gardens of Assam, India. Assam has India's highest maternal mortality rate. Hanna went there to interview families who'd lost their mothers, and health care workers who try to help pregnant mothers get the medical help they need.