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On September 2, a woman who was 36 weeks pregnant with her child, died in childbirth at Yerevan Margaryan medical center. Doctors were unable to save the life of the woman following the  caesarean section. Relatives of the 24-year-old woman accused doctors for failing to perform their duties demand them be prosecuted. The matter now is investigated at the Investigation Committee.

“The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case according to Part 3 of Article 130 of the Armenian Criminal Code which is failure to implement or improper implementation of professional duties by medical and support personnel,” Panorama.am was told at the Committee.

This has been the  second death of a young woman in childbirth within a month with the latest case registered in Vedi medical centre where a 29-year-old woman died.

Press secretary at the ministry of healthcare Alina Nikoghosyan told Panorama.am that 10 cases of maternal mortality had been recorded this year in Armenia.  “8 cases of maternal mortality connected with pregnancy complication were recorded in 2018.  The index of maternal deaths was 4 in 2017 and 12 – in 2016,” Nikoghosyan said, adding a detailed examinations were launched to look into the reasons of the recent maternal deaths.

The head of the mother and child health protection department of the healthcare ministry Gayane Avagyan expressed concern over the recent death cases and assured the ministry’s efforts  to clarify the circumstances of each case with forensic medical examinations underway.  Avagyan, however, pointed to the fact that most of the cases were sudden deaths occurred such as heart problems, asphyxia developed out of epilepsy, thromboembolism.

The ministry official recalled the definition of the World Health Organization (WHO) that the maternal mortality rates for countries with less than 5 million population is calculated in three year teams not annual.

“If we take a three-year term for analyzing the statistics, the number of maternal deaths in Armenia do not exceed 20 per 100 000 live births. We do not think this is the best index, yet among CIS countries the average ratio is 29.4 and Armenia has an average ratio. To compare with European countries, however, the number is high,” Avagyan stressed.

According to the figures published by Armenia’s Statistical Service, The maternal mortality ratio in Armenia is 21.9  per 100 000 live births as of January-December 2018. A rapid response service has been launched to prevent maternal deaths which operate at Erebuni and republican medical centers.

“Since most of the deaths are related to health condition of women, we are working on programs for thorough examination, diagnosis and treatment of girls below 15. Women below 18 can now apply for medical assistance on state means, as our efforts are about caring for the health of potential mothers,” said Avagyan.

To note, WHO defines maternal as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes. To facilitate the identification of maternal deaths in circumstances in which cause of death attribution is inadequate, a new category has been introduced: Pregnancy-related death is defined as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the cause of death.