Only 5 out of 17 villages were served by Maralik maternity hospital - deputy head of Department of Health and Social Welfare of Shirak region (video)

Gayane Avagyan, head of the Department of Maternal and Rehabilitation Health at the Ministry of Health, shares an opinion that if some complications arise during childbirth, the childbirth in Gyumri and Akhuryan will be saved, but the childbirth in Maralik will not.

According to health experts, the closure of the Maralik maternity hospital is a means of preventing infant and maternal mortality.

“Maralik's maternity hospital has 1-2 births a week. There is no required staff in the maternity hospital; there is no obstetrician, gynecologist, anesthesiologist, resuscitation specialist, neonatologist. Consequently, leaving the maternity beds here will further increase the risk for women and newborns, ” said Gayane Avagyan at the Media Center discussion.

The representative of the Health and Social Welfare Department of Shirak region responds to the statements of the opponents of the closure of the Maralik maternity hospital, who argue that such a decision is not in the province's interest as it serves 17 communities.

“Due to the lack of inter-community transport, only 5 out of 17 villages have been serviced by the Maralik maternity hospital. 149 births have been registered in other maternity hospitals in the province,” said Leyli Aslanyan, the deputy head of the Department of Health and Social Welfare.