An inquiry has been launched into the deaths of at least eight babies at a special care unit in Salmaniya Medical Complex.

Seven premature babies died in the week running up to Eid in the hospital's neo-natal unit, according to sources.

A rush of babies is being blamed on multiple births to women treated by 'irresponsible' fertility clinics. The unit was built to handle a maximum of 40 babies at a time, but is currently handling up to 60.

The overcrowding is stretching facilities to the limit, leading to fatalities from blood infections and due to the vulnerability of babies from multiple births, said officials.

One of the babies died on Tuesday night, while another died during the Eid holidays.

Sources said in the week before that, one baby died every day at the unit while there had been an average of one death every other day for several weeks before.

An inquiry has been launched into the source of infection and fertility clinics are being warned to be more responsible, said Health Ministry hospital affairs assistant under-secretary Dr Ameen Al Sa'ati.

'Sometimes, we have women coming in with quadruplets and triplets, all of them between 300g and 400g each,' he said.

'We cannot refuse admission so we are left with managing babies we know have little or no chance of survival.

'There has to be a tough law governing these (fertility) centres, otherwise things will go out of hand.'

He said the ministry was calling a meeting with fertility clinics in the next few days.

'The message will be clear - they have to follow guidelines or face action,' said Dr Al Sa'ati.-TradeArabia News Service