A woman in Azerbaijan’s northwestern city of Mingacevir lost her baby during birth before slipping into a coma and passing away.

Esmira Ocaqverdiyeva, 35, who was admitted to a maternity hospital on Dec. 27, died at midnight on January 8.

Doctors said the baby had died before birth, a claim the woman’s family rejects. They accuse doctors of mishandling the birth.

Azerbaijan had one of the highest maternity and child mortality rates in the former Soviet Union. 

The oil-rich country is using millions of its petrodollars to build modern hospitals but is still running short of high-quality medical staff.

ANN.Az