Guantanamo.- The neonatology service at the Doctor Agostinho Neto General Teaching Hospital stands out as the best in secondary care in Guantanamo Province by maintaining the infant mortality rate at 4.3 per thousand live births during 2024, thanks to the experience and sensitivity of the staff in charge of care.
Dr. Rosana Barroso Pelegrín, head of the service, also noted that at the stage they exhibit a survival rate of 97.82 percent, a reference indicator, which shows how the staff carefully deals with cases of high complexity 24 hours a day.
The first-degree specialist in neonatology also pointed out that the most common problems are associated with newborns with respiratory conditions and low weight that is, with less than 1,500 grams or critical weight.
However, in this last indicator, they achieved 96.55 percent rate at the end of the previous year.
The achievements of the neonatology service in the provincial hospital located in the capital city of Guantanamo Province are supported by the perseverance and dedication of the staff made up mostly of doctors and nursing personnel, who work in open and closed rooms with intensive and intermediate care units, and nutritional therapy cubicles, among others.
They are also responsible for maintaining the care, procedures and specialized medical attention directed at all newborns under 28 days old. An example is the skin-to-skin room, where babies receive exclusive breastfeeding and the kangaroo method, which is very beneficial for the newborn since they are always on the mother’s lap, which reduces the risk of infections and sleep disorders.
The neonatal service with capacity for more than twenty babies contributed to the birth of some 4,300 babies during 2024 in a very complex context marked by the lack of necessary materials and supplies in the health sector, aggravated by the intensification of the US blockade against Cuba.