Tula health officials refuse to disclose infant mortality statistics

In mid-January, news broke of a horrific tragedy in one of Novokuznetsk«s maternity hospitals, where nine infants died during the holidays. The story caused widespread public outcry and exposed problems with maternity hospitals across the country.

Following this, the editorial board of 71.RU collected feedback from new mothers in Tula about the city«s maternity wards. We also decided to check with the regional Health Ministry about the state of infant mortality statistics in the oblast and whether any inspections would be conducted at medical institutions after the scandalous story in Kuzbass. It is worth noting that after the Novokuznetsk emergency, many regions decided to conduct additional inspections of their maternity hospitals.

Here is what the officials answered to our request.

1. Are any inspections being conducted in maternity hospitals and perinatal centers of Tula Oblast after the incident in Novokuznetsk related to the death of newborns and infants?

“The region«s obstetric service is operating as usual, providing quality and accessible medical care to mothers and newborns. Since 2023, a situational center for monitoring pregnant women has been operating at the Tula Oblast Perinatal Center.

Regional specialists promptly track the quality of management of pregnant women with pathologies in any locality of the region. Weekly, doctors from the obstetric remote-consultative center travel to districts to examine and consult women who require special observation.

The goal is to provide quality medical care to every female resident of the oblast who is expecting a baby,” stated the Ministry of Health of Tula Oblast.

2. What is the infant mortality statistics in the region?

“Tula Oblast notes a steady trend of decreasing infant mortality. This is the result of improving the quality of pediatric care in the region,” the officials answered.

The Statistics That Were Withheld

If it seems to you that the officials did not answer either question specifically—then it«s not just your imagination. At the same time, the Ministry of Health of Tula Oblast has operational data on child mortality, just like the departments in other regions of the country.

For example, colleagues from 26.RU were able to get a direct answer from officials about infant mortality. Thus, in Stavropol Krai in 2025, infant mortality was 3.7 per 1000 live births, in 2024 this figure was 5.1 per 1000, and in 2016 — 8.4 per 1000.

If regional officials could not provide current numbers, then we turn to Rosstat (Russian Federal State Statistics Service) data for previous years.

In 2018, infant mortality in the region reached 4.9 per 1000 births, in 2019 — 4.8 per 1000, in 2020 and 2021 — 5.8 per 1000, in 2022 — 4.8 per thousand.

In 2023, Tula Oblast became the worst in infant mortality in the Central Federal District—from January to July, mortality in the region«s maternity hospitals reached 6.8 per 1000.

Already in 2024, the child mortality rate indeed dropped sharply—immediately to 3.8 deaths per 1000 births. In 2025, this indicator was at 3 deaths per 1000 births.

The last number became a historical minimum for the region and is generally below the all-Russian level—which is 3.5 per 1000.

At the same time, along with the child mortality rate, the birth rate is also falling. Annually in Tula Oblast, on average 500 fewer children are born, and the number of Tula residents who die is 2.5 times higher than the number born.

The trend of the region«s depopulation is stable and unlikely to change, especially against the backdrop of severe aging of the population.