Head of the maternity ward at the Toguchinsk Central District Hospital Tatyana Makarova is charged on three counts of involuntary manslaughter, negligence and violation of sanitary rules that lead to mass illness and poisoning.
During the investigation, local prosecutors established that the newborns died of an infection caused by unsanitary conditions at the maternity ward.
Makarova's lawyer said during the court session that the doctors were not responsible for the deaths of newborns.
Three babies died in the course of a week this spring. The first newborn died on April 14. The second newborn, a girl, died three days later. A boy, who lived just more than a week, died the next day.
After the deaths, the maternity ward was closed for quarantine. A medical committee created specifically to investigate the causes of deaths found evidence of violation of sanitary norms at the maternity ward.
According to the Toguchinsky district prosecutor Igor Kostenko, "a series of violation of the sanitary rules and norms" led to the development of infection that caused deaths of three newborns.
The hospital's Deputy Chief Doctor Yelena Zibireva said the babies had been born prematurely, each having weighed less than two kilograms.
"They were very weak and were immediately transferred to intensive care unit where doctors tried to save their lives," Zibireva said.
