During menstruation and childbirth, according to some traditional cultural beliefs, women are considered impure. Because menstruation is considered a curse from God, women are prohibited from contact with other people, and forced to spend time in a separate shelter called a chaupadi.

The cultural tradition of chaupadi plays a role in the pervasiveness of uterine prolapse in Nepal.

Chaupadi highlights the second rate status that women endure in Nepal. Sometimes Nepali women do not have anyone else to help them during and after giving birth, while they have to stay in the chaupadi. This increases the emotional and physical stress the body endures during an already traumatic time. Time spent in a chaupadi also contributes to poor nutrition and lack of health services.

Mansala