Jakarta – More women in Indonesia died during childbirth last year than in any other Southeast Asian country, a health ministry official said Monday.

The rate was 323 per 100,000 births last year compared to 30 each in Malaysia and Sri Lanka, and 50 in Thailand, said the ministry's director general for public health, Azrul Azwar, as quoted by Antara news agency.

He said the deaths were often due to bleeding, anaemia and infections. Women who died during abortions were also included in the figures.

Many pregnant women were unable to receive medical help when they needed it, he said, while others gave birth too young. "For some women, in this case pregnant women, the decision to go to the hospital when they are in critical condition is in the hands of their husbands," Azwar said.

The health ministry has been working with related institutions in an effort to reduce the number of deaths during childbirth, he said.