The President of Samoa's Nurses Association is defending the profession after an expecting mother and her unborn baby died this month at a hospital on Savaii.
Both died at Tuasivi hosptial when there was no doctor present to perform an emergency caesarian.
Taulapapa Fa'amanatu Nielsen says nurses work hard to save lives in the midst of constant demands and pressures.
But she says she was moved to issue a statement in the local newspaper over the weekend defending nurses as some are now being blamed by the public for the tragedy.
"Nurses are not murderer. Nurses are trying to save lives. That's why I put in the paper I am ready to protect the nurses. The family put in the media that they are going to sue the health so we are all waiting for that."
Taulapapa Fa'amanatu Nielsen says nurses welcome a government inquiry into the death.
