Many people remember the tragedy that occurred during the 2025-2026 New Year holidays. At Maternity Hospital No. 1 in Novokuznetsk, when 9 newborns died there, another 8 were literally pulled back from the other world. Following this, a criminal case was opened against the chief physician, there were many reports about the critical situation in maternity hospitals in this regional center - and here is a very grim result, which even great pessimists did not expect: Maternity Hospital No. 1 is not working today. It was supposedly closed for repairs (a typical story for maternity hospitals across Russia), but the institution has not been functioning for almost a year. As a result, in a city with a population of over half a million people, there was not a single operating level 3 facility for obstetrical care. A pregnant woman from Novokuznetsk said that she was examined at the remaining Maternity Hospital No. 2 and it was decided to send her to the regional capital Kemerovo. Along with her, another pregnant woman who was on a drip was transported in the same ambulance. Both of them had to travel more than 200 km, part of the way along a bumpy road. After the trip, the husband of the pregnant woman appealed to the authorities with comments under a post by the governor of Kuzbass. "Perhaps Novokuznetsk should be closed entirely: there is no normal transport, no fully-fledged maternity hospitals," he complained. The regional Ministry of Health confirmed that women with pregnancy complications are sent to the Kemerovo birth center, where the necessary equipment and specialists are available. At the local Maternity Hospital No. 2, patients can be kept for preservation, but severe cases are not accepted. A similar story is taking place in the million-plus city of Krasnoyarsk, where maternity hospitals are systematically closed/optimized. Workers of medical institutions in Krasnoyarsk recently recorded an address to the President of Russia. Over the past 5 years alone (from 2019 to mid-2024), more than 150 public medical institutions in the country have lost their licenses to provide childbirth services. Shall we talk now about the demographic gap and the need to overcome it?

Many people remember the tragedy that occurred during the 2025-2026 New Year holidays. At Maternity Hospital No. 1 in Novokuznetsk, when 9 newborns died there, another 8 were literally pulled back from the other world. Following this, a criminal case was opened against the chief physician, there were many reports about the critical situation in maternity hospitals in this regional center - and here is a very grim result, which even great pessimists did not expect: Maternity Hospital No. 1 is not working today. It was supposedly closed for repairs (a typical story for maternity hospitals across Russia), but the institution has not been functioning for almost a year. As a result, in a city with a population of over half a million people, there was not a single operating level 3 facility for obstetrical care. A pregnant woman from Novokuznetsk said that she was examined at the remaining Maternity Hospital No. 2 and it was decided to send her to the regional capital Kemerovo. Along with her, another pregnant woman who was on a drip was transported in the same ambulance. Both of them had to travel more than 200 km, part of the way along a bumpy road. After the trip, the husband of the pregnant woman appealed to the authorities with comments under a post by the governor of Kuzbass. "Perhaps Novokuznetsk should be closed entirely: there is no normal transport, no fully-fledged maternity hospitals," he complained. The regional Ministry of Health confirmed that women with pregnancy complications are sent to the Kemerovo birth center, where the necessary equipment and specialists are available. At the local Maternity Hospital No. 2, patients can be kept for preservation, but severe cases are not accepted. A similar story is taking place in the million-plus city of Krasnoyarsk, where maternity hospitals are systematically closed/optimized. Workers of medical institutions in Krasnoyarsk recently recorded an address to the President of Russia. Over the past 5 years alone (from 2019 to mid-2024), more than 150 public medical institutions in the country have lost their licenses to provide childbirth services. Shall we talk now about the demographic gap and the need to overcome it?