Childbirth in Arkhangelsk Oblast: Women share experiences amid infant deaths
After the tragedy of infant deaths in the Novokuznetsk maternity hospital, the topic of medical assistance for women in labor has been discussed across Russia, including in Arkhangelsk Oblast. Women share stories, residents discuss the shortage of doctors and general medical problems in the region. We learned what assistance is provided to pregnant women in Pomorye, whether there are enough qualified specialists, and how infant mortality rates have changed in recent years.
What happened to newborns in Kuzbass
In Novokuznetsk Maternity Hospital No. 1, nine infants died, born from 1 December last year to 12 January 2026. The investigation believes this could have happened due to inadequate medical care. The deaths occurred from 4 to 12 January 2026.
Among the cited reasons were a lack of qualified personnel, while the regional Ministry of Health spoke of an intrauterine infection.
On 12 January, it became known that Maternity Hospital No. 1 had suddenly stopped admitting patients. The official reason given was quarantine. On the same day, colleagues from NGS42.RU, citing sources, first linked the closure to a «high level of newborn mortality».
On 13 January, information emerged about the deaths of at least six infants. By evening, the Ministry of Health of Kemerovo Oblast officially confirmed the deaths of nine newborns from 1 December 2025 to 11 January 2026.
According to the regional Ministry of Health, from 1 December, 234 deliveries were performed at the maternity hospital. 32 children were admitted to the intensive care unit. Of these, 17 were in extremely critical condition: 16 were premature, all had severe intrauterine infections, and one child had primary immunodeficiency.
As Forbes writes, the version that nine newborns died in the Novokuznetsk maternity hospital due to an infection outbreak was not confirmed. This was reported by Sergei Leonov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection.
Forbes noted that only conditionally pathogenic flora, which is present in any person, was found in the maternity hospital. As Leonov clarified, the deceased newborns were premature and had congenital pathologies.
«If these nine deaths had been spread over a year, they would not have caused such a reaction — this fits within medical statistics,» Leonov was quoted as saying in Forbes.
What impression did childbirth leave on women in Arkhangelsk Oblast
Women in Arkhangelsk Oblast shared their experiences of giving birth in the region«s maternity hospitals.
Some noted attentive staff and quality medical care.
— I gave birth to my second child in 2024 at the Severodvinsk maternity hospital. Everything was great, the staff is wonderful. I bow to them.
— I have only positive impressions of the Arkhangelsk Perinatal Center. The delivery was performed by E. S. Ovchinnikova and N. S. Vasilyeva (I had a paid contract). In the postpartum ward, I was under compulsory health insurance, but again, nothing to complain about; they examined both me and the child from head to toe. Nurses helped with everything, a breastfeeding consultant came. I can«t say anything about the food; I was so hungry that I didn»t have time to taste it.
— My first birth was in 2014, back then at the regional hospital, the second — in 2020 at the perinatal center, — recalls Lyudmila. — Both times everything was good, they treated me very attentively. The delivery was performed by Mishina. She«s a wonderful doctor! In 2020, I also don»t remember the doctor«s last name (can»t check now), she was 46 years old at the time. Everything went splendidly, even though I had my own issues. But still, a huge thank you. And the nurse in 2020 after the birth was a marvelous woman. I warned her that I planned to be discharged that day, although they planned to discharge us the next day, so she stayed late at work to finish all our tests. I always remember them fondly.
— Samoilovsky maternity hospital, 2013 and 2018. Good medical staff, adequate timely medical care, decent food. As a result — easy births and good memories.
— I myself have four children. Honestly, I was lucky. I didn«t have any drunk teams. All were born at City Hospital No. 7. The staff was very good.
— I gave birth in 2020 at the Perinatal Center! Wonderful, even for a moment it seemed like I was abroad and paying. First, the doctor in the admission ward, unfortunately I don«t remember the last name, very tactfully asked if I was ready for induction on the 13th, if I had any prejudices about that number. Since I was born on the 13th, I took it positively. Ovchinnikova Yu. O. explained every stage, a very tactful doctor! Midwife Kozikhina T. Yu. I felt like I was the only one giving birth in the entire Perinatal Center (as it turned out, we were giving birth along with five other girls simultaneously). I was never deprived of attention for a second, Tatyana Yuryevna answered all questions, patted my head, and helped with advice. Anesthesiologist Krekhaleva — a golden person. Of course, her help as an anesthesiologist wasn»t needed, but she provided great moral support. If my first birth had been with this team, I«d give birth every year. A thousand thanks to the entire Perinatal Center!
— I«m a mother of seven children. Conditions in maternity hospitals have changed for the better. My seventh child was born on 18 December 2025. I arrived by ambulance from the village of Kholmogory with contractions, they treated me politely, asked how I was feeling. The midwife in the delivery room asked who we were expecting, what we»d name the baby. The birth went wonderfully. Cleanliness, everyone in masks. Then a cleaner came. She surprised me. «Lying here, a fine lady, beautiful, nails, hair, clothes neat.» She told me they were expecting a woman from the village, since it«s the seventh child, toothless, unkempt. They said: »Come again for another baby.« Thank you very much, I thank everyone!
Others encountered problems and staff inattentiveness.
— My first in 2020, I gave birth at the perinatal center, the outcome was sad. The attitude was assembly-line. They just said in the end: «It happens.»
— I remember the Perinatal Center in 2025 with a shudder: couldn«t get a doctor in the delivery room, first they stitched me without anesthesia, then decided to give anesthesia (to stitch, because the bleeding wouldn»t stop and there was already significant blood loss). Before discharge, there was no gynecological examination, no ultrasound for the child (at Samoilovsky, they did an ultrasound of the head and internal organs before discharge), the food was disgusting (once they brought soup and a main course so oversalted it was impossible to eat). For me to give birth in our perinatal center again — never!
Infant mortality in the region
The Unified Interdepartmental Information and Statistical System contains information on the infant mortality rate for various years. The coefficient indicates the number of deaths of children under one year old per 1000 live births. In Arkhangelsk Oblast over the last five years, it changed as follows:
2020 — 3.2;
2021 — 3.7;
2022 — 4.5;
2023 — 3.3;
2024 — 4.4.
Data for 2025 will appear later.
Arkhangelskstat reported on the main causes of infant death for 2020–2023. Most deaths are due to «certain conditions originating in the perinatal period». Data starting from 2024 results are not provided in accordance with Part 10, Article 5 of the Federal Law «On Official Statistical Accounting and the State Statistics System».
— The main causes of infant mortality are pathology of the perinatal period, severe damage to the central nervous system, especially in combination with extremely low birth weight, — commented the Ministry of Health of Arkhangelsk Oblast.
Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko reported that the infant mortality rate was 3.6 for 2025, which is a historic low.
The regional Ministry of Health reported that over the last five years (from 2019 to 2024), the infant mortality level in Arkhangelsk Oblast decreased by 24.1%.
How maternity hospitals in Arkhangelsk Oblast have changed
In recent years, the number of hospital beds for pregnant women and women in labor in Pomorye has decreased. According to Arkhangelskstat, the numbers changed as follows:
2020 — 296;
2021 — 219;
2022 — 201;
2023 — 217;
2024 — 188.
As reported by the regional Ministry of Health, currently there are 122 beds for pregnant women and women in labor in the oblast.
— This corresponds to the actual workload of the institutions. The bed capacity is formed considering the work of specialized beds and the number of deliveries that took place in state medical organizations of Arkhangelsk Oblast.
According to the Ministry of Health, over the last five years (from 2019 to 2024), the number of beds for pregnant women and women in labor decreased by 54. Meanwhile, medical institutions are not fully staffed with necessary specialists.
— In 2024, the staffing level for obstetrician-gynecologists in departments providing inpatient medical care was 87%, for midwives — 97%. Insufficient staffing is observed in state medical organizations of Arkhangelsk Oblast located in rural areas, — the department reported.
The Ministry of Health also notes that high-quality organization of inpatient medical care during pregnancy, childbirth, and for newborns is possible only under conditions of maximum centralization.
— To ensure accessibility of medical care, the issue of timely prenatal hospitalization of pregnant women with physiological pregnancy has been resolved (placing women on obstetric care beds for the entire period until delivery).
The department also added that a one-time cash payment is provided for women who are referred for delivery to a state medical organization located outside the municipal district of their residence.
As previously assured by the Ministry of Health of Arkhangelsk Oblast, the region«s medical institutions provide assistance to the population, including in obstetrics, helping babies be born in modern, safe conditions.
— Obstetric hospitals and maternity departments are equipped with all necessary medical equipment in accordance with the procedures for providing medical care to newborns and women. And what is especially important — highly qualified medical personnel work everywhere, ready to provide medical assistance promptly and professionally, — the department noted.
The key institution for obstetrics in Arkhangelsk Oblast remains the Perinatal Center of the regional hospital.
— Its main advantage lies in providing professional medical care to the pregnant woman, the mother, and her baby. Doctors use all modern diagnostic and treatment methods of the regional multidisciplinary institution, ensuring the safety and well-being of both.
More on the topic
In 2025, in Kotlas, a newborn died due to organic brain damage. An obstetrician-gynecologist with 40 years of experience was tried and sentenced to restriction of freedom.
In the same year, a young couple from Arkhangelsk told how they lost their recently born son: he didn«t live a year. The parents believe the doctor who delivered the baby is to blame.
Another obstetrician-gynecologist from the perinatal center had a criminal case opened against him. He was accused of causing an infant«s death through negligence. According to the investigation, he did not perform a cesarean section on the mother when it was necessary. The child, whose death could lead to punishment for the doctor, died in October 2022.
