Infant mortality at Novokuznetsk maternity hospital quadruples in one year

The mortality rate at the Novokuznetsk perinatal center, where infants died en masse during the January holidays, has changed dramatically over the past year. At the same time, the number of newborns remained almost the same, the Kuzbass Ministry of Health told the NGS42.RU editorial office on Friday, January 23, in response to a request.

According to the ministry, throughout 2024, 2,675 infants were born at Maternity Hospital No. 1 on Sechenov Street, with a mortality rate of 0.6 per 1,000 children during that period.

In the past year, 2025, 2,380 babies were born there, but the mortality rate quadrupled — 2.6 cases per 1,000 infants.

The department noted that at the same time, the mortality rate at the maternity hospital is better than the national and regional averages.

«The infant mortality rates at Obstetric Hospital No. 1 are lower than the all-Russian and regional ones,» the response said.

It is specified that the average newborn mortality rate in the region was 5.6 per 1,000 children in 2024, and 3.3 in 2025.

The head doctor of the institution, Vitaly Kheraskov, who was suspended amid the situation at the maternity hospital, was appointed in December 2024. NGS42.RU sources said that he allegedly might not have reported the deaths of the first infants to avoid spoiling the statistics. In addition, the perinatal center lacked immunoglobulin, which is necessary for newborns in intensive care.