Medical lawsuits: women in Crimea are suing over a banned obstetric appointment

Several women filed civil lawsuits against the Ministry of Health in Crimea and Simferopol Clinical Maternity Hospital No. 2 (Izvestia has it) demanding compensation for moral damage. During their delivery, doctors used the Kristeller technique, that is, they squeezed the baby out of the mother's stomach. One of the women and two babies were seriously injured. A criminal case has been opened. At least 20 more women in labor faced similar situations in this medical facility. The victims intend to recover more than 20 million rubles from him. The information about whether they will receive the requested amounts and what is the danger of accepting a Kristeller is in the Izvestia article.

How children are squeezed out

Civil claims for compensation for moral damage were filed against Simferopol Clinical Maternity Hospital No. 2 by two women who delivered babies at this medical institution. The second defendant is the Ministry of Health in Crimea. At the end of March 2025, applications were submitted to the Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Simferopol and the Leninsky District Court of the Republic of Crimea, Nikolay Chernyshuk, a representative of the victims, a lawyer of medical law and director of the Center for the Protection of Citizens' rights in the field of healthcare, told Izvestia. The court, he said, should receive them within about a week.

"One of the women in labor and two babies suffered serious harm to their health, one of them has palliative status," he said.

According to the mothers, during childbirth, doctors used in both cases the Kristeller technique, which has been banned in Russia since 1992, that is, squeezing the fetus out of the mother's abdomen.

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One of the victims, Daria Provotorova, gave birth with her husband. As a result of the doctors' actions, they had a child with brain damage. Now the spouses are demanding compensation for moral damage of 20 million rubles each.

After the incident, the girl went to a psychiatrist complaining of feeling unwell, panic attacks, tachycardia, fear of death, obsessive thoughts about her experiences during childbirth, disturbed sleep due to nightmares about how events repeat themselves, severe anxiety, constant repetition of "head shots of traumatic childbirth and everything that happened further", and decreased appetite. She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the lawsuit.

Another victim, Marina Osaulenko, also gave birth in Simferopol Maternity Hospital No. 2 in 2022. She gave birth to a child with hearing impairments, he did not undergo cardiac screening. The mother's bladder ruptured as a result of fetal extrusion. She decided to tell about the incident only this year.

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"The feeling of inferiority as a woman and as a mother causes constant feelings of separation from her husband and loved ones," she stressed.

The woman intends to collect 10 million rubles from the maternity hospital.

According to Nikolay Chernyshuk, earlier it was possible to collect compensation in a smaller amount for poorly provided medical care, but he expects that the claims of the women whose interests he protects will be satisfied.

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— For example, in 2023 in Krasnodar, for poorly provided medical care, it was possible to recover compensation for moral damage in the amount of 1-2 million rubles, — said the lawyer.

Courts rarely satisfy claims for compensation for moral damage in full, especially when it comes to amounts in the tens of millions of rubles, lawyer Andrei Mishonov noted in an interview with Izvestia.

"As a rule, the actual payments in such cases range from 100,000 to 2-3 million rubles, depending on the severity of the consequences, the degree of guilt of the medical staff and the evidence base," he added. — Compensation of 10-20 million rubles is an exception that is possible only in the presence of extremely serious consequences — disability in a child, death of a newborn or mother, as well as a proven gross violation of standards of care.

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The maximum payments that women can expect is 5 million rubles, according to medical lawyer Irina Gritsenko.

— In the last two years, there has indeed been a tendency in Russia to increase the amount of compensation. But those who have a child who died can count on 10 million rubles," she noted.

In December 2024, the Investigative Committee for Crimea and Sevastopol opened a criminal case into the fact that maternity hospital doctors inflicted bodily injuries on a newborn while performing an emergency delivery after Daria Provotorova's appeal. After that, the search began for other women in labor who also encountered the use of Kristeller. Now, according to Nikolai Chernyshuk, at least 20 women have faced similar stories.

Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Health with a request to tell how the ministry controls the use of the prohibited intake of Kristeller in Russian maternity hospitals.

"This can happen to anyone"

The victim, Daria Provotorova, told Izvestia that in November 2024, the hospital doctors refused to perform a cesarean section, citing the fact that she would be able to give birth on her own, although there were indications for it.

— I had a difficult first birth. Then a baby weighing 2.6 kg was born, and they squeezed it out for me. During my second pregnancy, I went to the same doctor who delivered me the first time. He knew my story and we had an agreement for a caesarean section. But during the consultation, it was decided that I would give birth on my own," she shared.

Daria Provotorova noted that she was then stimulated to give birth without her consent. At the same time, the documents, according to the girl, indicate that they started on their own.

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— A nurse came to my room, gave me a pill, after that my water broke, contractions began. I had my amniotic sac punctured. I gave birth on my own. She asked me to have a caesarean section. The doctor came out several times, apparently to check if there were operating rooms available, but there were none. And then they told me that it was too late to have a caesarean," the girl told Izvestia.

The birth was very difficult, as the baby weighed more than 4 kg, she added. According to her, the doctors pressed on her stomach so that she could not breathe, it was very painful for her, and the child's ribs were completely broken.

— Two doctors were pressing on my stomach from both sides. At that time, another doctor was doing a vacuum extraction of the fetus, that is, pulling it by the head. As a result, the baby was born, but he did not scream. They started his heart only 10 minutes later," said Daria Provotorova.

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After the baby was born, he was kept in intensive care for more than a month, the girl noted. He was then transferred to the palliative care unit, where he remains to this day.

— The child has no chance of a normal life. His brain is affected. Now he is in a medical organization under the constant supervision of doctors. You can pick him up, but in any case, you will need to hire staff, since you cannot leave him for a minute,— Daria Provotorova emphasized.

The girl also said that her medical documents did not contain information about fetal extrusion and vacuum extraction, and doctors assured her that "this can happen to anyone."

What is the danger of taking a Crystal

Taking Kristeller is considered dangerous for the fetus and for the mother, Ekaterina Yefimkova, head of the 2nd obstetric clinic of the Moscow Regional Research Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology named after Academician V.I. Krasnopolsky, reminded Izvestia. According to her, this method of delivery has not been officially used in Russia since 1992.

International recommendations, including the guidelines of the World Health Organization, also do not support the use of this technique, added Daria Lienko, gynecologist at the medical center of Dr. Alexandrovsky. For example, in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, it is officially prohibited to use it, with the exception of certain emergency situations under control and recorded in the protocol.

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— In Russia, since the early 2010s, the use of Kristeller has not been recommended for use in accordance with the clinical recommendations of the Ministry of Health and orders on obstetric care. Although it is not formally prohibited by a separate federal law, in practice it is excluded from protocols and its use is regarded as a violation of the standards of medical care," the gynecologist emphasized.

But in a number of medical organizations, especially in maternity hospitals without regular quality audits, the use of Kristeller may still be used, Daria Lienko noted. According to her, this may be due to a lack of staff training, a shortage of staff and outdated clinical facilities.

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The use of Kristeller can lead to rupture of the uterus and soft tissues of the birth canal in a mother, an increased risk of massive postpartum bleeding, injuries to the ribs and abdominal organs, as well as the development of pelvic dysfunctions, Ekaterina Efimkova noted.

In a child, Daria Lienko added, the use of this technique can lead to spinal and cranial injuries, hypoxia, bone fractures and intracranial hemorrhages.

If the doctor suggested that you "put a little pressure on your stomach" to speed up childbirth, you need to refuse such help, Ekaterina Efimkova concluded.