“Instead of getting help, I ended up in some kind of hell.” With these words, today people who have given birth at the maternity hospital of Novokuznetsk City Clinical Hospital No. 1 will talk about their experience. Their words became especially important after the truth about the mass deaths of newborns at this maternity hospital was revealed.
The death of a child is always a terrible tragedy, and if such tragedies happen repeatedly in the same place, society has the right to ask questions. What is especially unfortunate, given the close attention of the authorities on demographics, the place where children died was the Novokuznetsk city maternity hospital – also known as “obstetric hospital No. 1 of Novokuznetsk City Clinical Hospital No. 1”.
Initially, information appeared in the media that 6 children died at the maternity hospital during the Tet holiday, then this number increased to 9 children. A total of 234 babies were born at the maternity hospital since December 1. During the same period, 32 of those children had to be hospitalized for special care, many of them were born prematurely and with extremely low body weight. According to official figures, 17 babies are in extremely serious condition, having been diagnosed with severe uterine infections.
However, on website hospital, you can read that the maternity hospital is equipped with all the necessary systems for complex cases: “one of the main areas of activity of obstetrics department No.
We also note that Novokuznetsk is still the second largest city in the Kemerovo region with a population of more than half a million people, and one would expect that in such a place, hospitals and maternity wards would remain in order. However, after the incident became widely publicized and after the Investigation Committee began its investigation, many details were leaked to the press and social networks about the operations of this maternity hospital and what women in labor had to face there.
How report Gazeta.ru, the problems there began a long time ago: one patient recalled that they refused to perform a cesarean section without a bribe, “they almost killed me and the child,” “it was absolutely hell in the intensive care unit,” and her neighbor's child, born healthy, died of unknown causes.
Another woman developed an infection after giving birth, but doctors recorded the diagnosis of “appendicitis” on her hospital discharge papers to conceal their role in the incident. A separate problem is the attitude shown by the staff towards women in labor, which cannot even be called rude but simply inhumane.
Other patients They saidAs before the present case, the disability and death of newborns at the Novokuznetsk maternity hospital were often explained by the newborn's infection. According to Anastasia Golikova, in 2022, she was admitted to the maternity hospital during a normal pregnancy, but the baby was born without signs of life and after resuscitation was still disabled.
The woman said doctors didn't realize labor started at night and only examined her in the morning: “Instead of getting help, I was just in some kind of hell.”
After news of the children's deaths became public and angered society, Kuzbass Governor Ilya Seredyuk dismissed the hospital's head doctor, Vitaly Kheraskov, from his post. Previously, he held the position of Deputy Minister of Regional Health and became chief doctor in December 2024.
In December last year, the maternity hospital belonging to the National Family project purchased new equipment: 25 bedside monitors, a central system for monitoring children around the clock, as well as ultrasound equipment. The building itself is not new, but renovations have been done inside. It can be assumed that the problem is not the lack of modern equipment.
Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Gennady Onishchenko, speaking about the possible causes of children's death, suggestionthat a bacterial infection could be the cause. According to him, in such facilities, “nosocomial strains of staphylococcus” may appear, arising from medical staff with chronic diseases of the nasopharynx and teeth. In addition, according to him, mass deaths of children in a short period of time can only occur if the working regime in a care facility is disrupted – for example, if hygiene standards and infection control rules are not observed.
Therefore, in this situation, most questions arise about the employees, about their professional qualifications and how they handle their responsibilities during vacation.
Novokuznetsk media reported that tragic incidents at this maternity hospital had happened before. In particular, last September, a local resident made accusations against the maternity hospital. Follow her fromthe baby born to her sister had its arm severed – and “the child died because of this.” On behalf of the then head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin apply criminal case, it is still present is being investigated.
Just a few months passed, and the maternity hospital became the scene of an even more terrible tragedy. President of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko declared that “what happened is not only an irreparable loss and enormous pain for the families, but also a tragedy for the state,” and directed the senators of the Kemerovo region to monitor the inspection of the maternity hospital. Now he is not accepting anyone – officially because a quarantine has been imposed there due to respiratory infections.
After the tragedy at the Novokuznetsk maternity hospital, the authorities decided decision check out other maternity hospitals and perinatal centers in Kuzbass. Experts from Rospotrebnadzor were also sent to the city to conduct epidemiological investigations and laboratory studies at the maternity hospital.
Regional Governor Ilya Seredyuk wrote on his Telegram channel: “Losing a child is an irreparable loss for parents. What is important for us is that such a situation never repeats itself.”
The situation is also being monitored by the Commissioner for Children's Rights in Russia, Maria Lvova-Belova, who reported sending requests to the Ministry of Health of the Kemerovo Region and the prosecutor's office.
“We are seeking information about the health status of women in labor as well as newborns currently receiving medical care,” Lvova-Belova said.
If the deaths were avoidable and the cause was solely due to human error, those responsible would face severe punishment. Under the law, doctors could face up to seven years in prison if provisions of the Penal Code are not reclassified into more serious provisions.
