Midwives blamed for 6 baby deaths
Published 15 November, 2007, 06:35
A husband and wife from St Petersburg who gave ante-natal classes to women preparing for childbirth are facing charges of malpractice after six babies died and two more disabled.
For more than a decade Aleksey and Elena Yermakov have worked in St Petersburg, delivering lectures, advice and techniques they say help women to give birth naturally.
Neither is a licensed doctor, although Elena has obstetrical education.
Both maintain they have never interfered medically with a client, but now they stand accused of precisely that.
A mother says her son's brain was damaged through Elena Yermakova's incompetence.
They were charged with illegally organising home birth deliveries, and it could cost them their freedom.
The criminal case
Over the years hundreds of women have attended the Yermakovs’ ante-natal classes.
Most have gone on to give birth successfully but for some there have been terrible consequences.
The women say the Yermakovs convinced them to give birth at home and that Elena actively participated in the deliveries.
Aleksey Yermakov dismissed all the charges as false.
They say at least six babies died as result of this, and two more suffered severe birth trauma.
Now the victims want the Yermakovs to be punished for their alleged misdeeds.
Aleksey Yermakov says all the evidence shows he and his wife are innocent, and that their accusers may be trying to use the media to make noise around the case: “They want to put pressure on participants of the process, on the judge,” he suggests.
The court case is expected to last for up to a year. If found guilty, the Yermakovs face up to five years in prison.
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