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Medvedev to hold video conference on the development of perinatal centers in Russia

MOSCOW, January 29, 4:31 /ITAR-TASS/. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will hold a video conference with the governors of regions on Wednesday to discuss the programme for the development of perinatal centers in the Russian Federation.

A government press service official said Vice-Premier Olga Golodets, Alexander Beglov, plenipotentiary presidential representative in the Central Federal District, Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova, and Minister of Construction Mikhail Men would participate in the conference.

Twenty-two perinatal centers have been built in Russia by now. In the coming two years it is planned to build another 32 such centers. The RF government allocates more than 55 billion roubles for these purposes.

This programme has become one of the principal measures being taken by government bodies to stimulate natality in this country. Within the first ten months of 2013, more than 1.5 million babies were born in Russia, which was almost 5,000 more than the number of babies born in the corresponding period of of the previous year.

The functioning of the perinatal centers, which employ exclusively highly-qualified staff, made it possible to lower infant fatalities in a half of Russia's regions.

At the same time, as Dmitry Medvedev said at a conference held early in December last year, "The principal aim now remains the same -- to lower mother and baby fatalities, give greater scope to medical services and to the use of such technologies which are not yet employed everrywhere our country: the fostering of babies born with an extremely low body mass".

The implementation of the programme for the construction of perinatal centers will make it possible to secure that women who have encountered certain difficulties will be able to parturiate at perinatal centers which are properly tailored for that. This will imporve the general situation in this respect in our country," Medvedev said.

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