CAMAGÜEY. – This province presents an infant mortality rate below the national average, obtaining in 2017 the lowest number in the history of this indicator, positioning itself among the territories with a better quality in the mother-child attention.

This indicator in just 3.2 deceases per 1000 live births along this year in Camaguey, with the congenital malformations as the main cause of the death so far, according to data provided to the ACN thanks to Ivette Prince, head of the Mother-Child Attention Program in the province.

The priority given to prenatal attention, as well as the reinforcement in the preconceptional risk evaluation, are some of the elements in which the territory is working to guaranty the babies’ health and their mother’s, from primary attention to hospital care.

The doctor explained that from 2018 the use of Doppler will be incorporated as early as the pregnancy first trimester for all the pregnant women, due to the benefits that brings this technology when it comes to detect precociously any pregnancy conditions and its repercussion in the fetal welfare.

This doctor also added that so far this equipment is available in 12 territory health areas and in the Maternity Hospital Ana Betancourt de Mora.

Regarding the treatment for the preconceptional risk, the specialist referred that also in 2018 it will be carried out an evaluation of all women in fertile age, in order to identify predisposing factors to complications and to suggest the use of high effectiveness contraceptives to those that does not want to conceive at the moment.

With that, it is intended to reduce the abortion rate, which turns out to be pretty high in Camaguey, and to also reduce teen pregnancy, a growing phenomenon in the last years that have a repercussion in children mortality.

According to a note published by the national press, Roberto Morales Ojeda, vice-president of the Council of State and minister of Cuban Public Health, announced that at this time in all its history the country has achieved the lowest mortality rate in children during the first year of life, with only 3.9.

This number places the Caribbean island among the first countries of the world in this indicator, coming even before several developed nations.

Translated by Aileen Álvarez García/ student