Three municipalities, Manatí, Jesús Menéndez and Majibacoa, show zero infant mortality to date, which contributes to the province reaching a rate of 3.2 deaths per thousand live births. This result is due to the joint and constant work of the Maternal and Child Care Program (PAMI) in the territory.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- Osmara López Borrero, head of the Maternal and Child Care Program (PAMI), signified the positive performance of health personnel from Primary to Secondary Care, with the leadership of the Provincial Health Directorate, to keep that index below the national average. She also highlighted the functioning of the multidisciplinary commission for the care of the mothers and seriously ill children.

Among the challenges of PAMI in the soil of Las Tunas stands out the need to reinforce the work with the infertile couple in various health centers, since in the current period the number of pregnancies obtained in municipal consultations is increasing compared to 2019, but very high figures are required to guarantee the population replacement.

López Borrero emphasized that currently working with couples who have been infertile for a longer time and require procedures at another level to solve pathologies that threaten the reproductive capacity.

As for the Provincial Center for Assisted Reproduction, she pointed out that the number of new cases consulted increase to 422 and 73 artificial inseminations have been carried out, obtaining 60 pregnancies, 43 more than in the same period of 2019.

Teenage pregnancy remains one of the pressing problems that have not yet found a definitive solution. In the last six years, the trend here has been upwards, coupled with the increase in fertility in this age group. Jobabo, Majibacoa and Manatí have the highest rates for every thousand women of childbearing age.

The specialist explained with respect to this issue that a joint strategy is established with the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) and the Ministry of Education (MINED) to carry out concrete actions in each area of Health, in order to raise awareness among the population about the urgency to eradicate this scourge, which also creates a dilemma for physical and reproductive health.

In Las Tunas, despite the achievements of the Maternal and Child Care Program, deficiencies are identified such as a decrease in the birth rate, high rates of low birth weight and a considerable incidence of sexually transmitted diseases.

Another pending issue is the admission of pregnant women at risk to maternity homes, which have a multidisciplinary team for comprehensive and differentiated care for patients. In this and other aspects, family responsibility is required in the wonderful challenge of caring for and multiplying life.