A mother died while giving birth at Mater Dei Hospital on Sunday, which was Mother’s Day, Health Minister Joe Etienne Abela said in Parliament on Monday.

Abela said that the mother died of medical complications after giving birth, and an autopsy is being carried out.  The baby is alive and well.

He expressed his sorrow and condolences to the family of the woman, who was a foreign national, in both Maltese and English.

Abela was speaking as he opened the debate on the financial estimates of the Embryo Protection Authority.

In a brief speech, the minister said that the Embryo Protection Authority exists to ensure good governance in the use of IVF procedures, and said that there is a 32% success rate in these procedures.

612 embryos have been preserved, and 64 babies were born over the past year including six sets of twins.  34 couples, meanwhile, are awaiting delivery.

Just 10 minutes was dedicated to this matter in Parliament on Monday, with the discussion set to continue on Tuesday.

This was after much of the sitting was suspended as the Speaker deliberated on a PN motion for an urgent debate related to the hospitals inquiry.  The motion was rejected.