[Louthcoombutt]

A provincial general hospital in northern Vietnam has suspended two doctors and three nurse midwives after a woman died during a C-section early on Wednesday.

The Bac Ninh General Hospital has asked the province's People’s Committee and Health Department for instructions on "solutions" to the case, news website Dan Tri reported Friday.

The baby of Nguyen Thi Tuyet, 34, had been sent to the National Pediatrics Hospital in Hanoi for better care.

Doctor Ha Ba Chan, deputy director of the Bac Ninh hospital, said the baby is in stable condition and does not need a respirator.

The hospital has also asked local police to step in and investigate the death.

On Tuesday, a 33-year-old woman and her baby died during delivery at the Thai Binh Obstetrics Hospital also in the north, while the baby of a 27-year-old woman died, also during delivery, in Khanh Hoa Province in central Vietnam.

At least 18 marternal deaths were reported since April this year. In some cases, the babies died with their mothers.

Several medical staff including doctors and nurses have been suspended after investigations found their negligence and irresponsibility had caused the deaths of mothers and babies.

The Health Ministry has made no specific reports on the spate of maternal deaths recorded recently in hospitals across the country including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The Hanoi Obstetrics Hospital is working with the city Health Department to investigate the death of 32-year-old Tran Thi Minh Phuong, who died at the city’s leading hospital, Bach Mai, nine days after a C-section delivering twins on June 11 at the obstetrics hospital.

The investigation was launched after the woman’s family Thursday filed a complaint and investigation request, saying Phuong had no problems during her pregnancy.

Doctors at the Hanoi Obstetrics Hospital said Phuong had excessive bleeding after the C-section and the hospital had to perform another surgery, removing her uterus to stop the bleeding.

She went into a coma and died of multiple organ failure. Her two babies are still being taken care of at the Hanoi Obstetrics Hospital.