Sunset Nogueras Rofes
CIENFUEGOS, June – Recent investigations have revealed unexpected results related to underweight newborns in this region of Cuba, said a pediatric specialist, who, were she to be identified, she would at least lose her job.
The study in question, part of a dissertation in General Medicine, indicated preliminarily that in more than 150 newborns at the Maternity Hospital in Cienfuegos, only three weighed under 5.5 pounds (2,500 grams), the limit of the World Health Organization for underweight newborns.
According to experts, no previous statistic reflected such accomplishments. Most of them considered the possibility that the data in the "newborn cards," the official document used in these studies, is being falsified.
In other words, it is assumed that authorities are lying in these documents, given the impossibility relatives or parents have of verifying the information. It is also thought that this follows a strategy of certain personnel authorized by the Provincial and Municipal Administration of the
Ministry of Public Health to transform reality within medical institutions.
"There is talk of a set of measures meant to create a false paradigm to establish comparisons with Latin America that would, of course, be favorable to the health system in Cuba," the source asserted.
Another expert said that "maybe the real objective of falsifying data is to not acknowledge the ineffective prenatal attention given pregnant women in Cuba." No amount of medical attention can substitute deficient nourishment.
Versión original en español
CubaNet does not require sole rights from its contributors. We authorize the reproduction and distribution of this article as long as the source is credited.
|