Abstract

FARNOT, Ubaldo  and  RIOS, Norma Eneida. Maternal Mortality during the early decades of 20^th century. Rev Cubana Salud Pública [online]. 2013, vol.39, n.1, pp. 69-82. ISSN 0864-3466.

Objective: to describe cases of maternal deaths between 1910 and 1949. Methods: descriptive and documentary research. Results: in the first four decades surveyed from 1910 to 1949, maternal mortality in Cuba showed a decrease of 51.0 % from rates of 493.4 per 100 000 live births from 1910 to 1919 at a rate of 242.2 during 1940-1949, at a time when there were no antibiotics or blood banks, nor was widespread prenatal care. These figures should not be considered as too high in those years in an underdeveloped country. The sharp decline during these decades is an evidence of the fight against the main causes, conducted by teachers and pupils, by the work achieved by women, the availability of doctors, nurses, midwives and means of transportation, and the extended scope of mass media such as radio and print media. The declines in the leading causes of death as puerperal infection, bleeding and deaths due to preeclampsia and convulsive eclampsia are shown in the study. Conclusions: the behavior of the data examined is not a mere coincidence with the implementation of the new changes in medical general practice in general in Cuba, and particularly maternal care, but also influence it had on the health and social-economic development of the whole nation.

Keywords : maternal mortality; Cuban early decades; Cuban women development.

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