Within the framework of the program implemented jointly by Azerbaijan’s Health Ministry and the Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation, some 275 newborns have been screened in Republican Perinatal Center over the last four months, the center director, chairperson of the ministry’s Obstetrical Commission, Sevinj Mammadova, said on Saturday.

Axar.az reports citing APA.

Screening results revealed that some 85 children suffer from cardiovascular failure while 30 children were born with congenital heart defects, said Mammadova addressing a board meeting at the ministry.

She noted that compared to 2017, last year the maternal mortality rate in Azerbaijan decreased from 35.5 ppm to 13.8 ppm.

The death rate from acute respiratory distress syndrome has significantly decreased (in 2015 the rate was 10.9%, in 2016 – 8.4%), the center director said.

Mammadova added that unlike previous years, in 2016 thanks to the introduction of surfactant therapy and new technologies of respiratory support 135 of 295 newborns with underweight were saved.