Kathmandu, Sept. 12 -- A woman delivering a baby on a pavement outside a government hospital in Rajbiraj, eastern Tarai, has raised serious questions about whether Nepal's free maternity-care system is actually reaching the poorest when they need it most.

People count on hospitals and health facilities to respond swiftly and efficiently, particularly in emergencies, as the lifeline for survival and the backbone of support. But the ordeal of Babita Kumari Paswan, 30, of Parsahi in Rajbiraj, shows how a poor family can still be left outside the healthcare system despite reaching a government hospital for childbirth.

Paswan gave birth to a baby on a pavement outside the state-owned Gajendra Narayan Singh Hospital after her husband could no...