Italy’s health ministry said Tuesday that probes into a spate of women dying in childbirth had uncovered issues in the handling of three fatal cases, but stopped short of suggesting lives might have been saved. Italy, which has one of the lowest maternal mortality rates in the world, suffered five deaths in seven days between December 25 and 31. Leading gynaecologists suggested some of the patients might have been saved through better screening of older and overweight pregnant women at risk of thrombosis or heart problems.