Studies on teenage pregnancy extended in Holguín

The health system in the province of Holguín extends studies on teenage pregnancy to rural and difficult-to-access localities where the highest rates of this indicator are concentrated in the territory.

Elizabeth Chacón, head of the Nursing Department of the General Directorate of Health, explained to the ACN that through promotional activities, training is offered in the communities focused on girls and their families.

She noted that the fundamental objective is to prepare adolescents about the use of contraceptive methods and sexually transmitted infections, as well as the medical complications of an early pregnancy.

In these health actions, rural nurses play a key role in taking advantage of all areas, such as field visits and the family doctor's office, to carry out educational talks, she pointed out.

These communities, concentrated in areas of the Turquino Plan, also receive free contraceptive methods as part of the international Prosalud project, which benefits seven municipalities in Holguín.

Likewise, specialists in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Internal Medicine attend monthly to evaluate the risk factors for pregnancy in girls between 11 and 18 years of age, which include the social and educational environment and health pathologies.

The United Nations Children's Fund places pregnancy in adolescence as one of the main causes of maternal death between 15 and 19 years of age and, from 2021 to date, 18 percent of births in Latin America and the Caribbean correspond to pregnant women in this age range. (Source: ACN)

In Cuba, multidisciplinary teams have been created in the 16 provinces to address this psychosocial problem, which has among its main consequences late prenatal care, school dropouts, emotional disorders and instability at home.