Since the Trump administration imposed a near-total fuel blockade on Cuba three months ago, Mauren Echevarría Peña has been inside a ward in Havana's specialist maternity and neonatal hospital. Mauren, 26, is expecting her first baby, but her pregnancy has been complicated. I've had gestational diabetes and chronic hypertension, she explains, sitting on a bed at the Ramón González Coro maternity hospital.
With her baby boy due this week, Mauren is understandably nervous. Not only has she had to endure weeks of bed rest and constant supervision, but she must now give birth in a nation experiencing rolling blackouts and days-long power cuts. Over the weekend, there was another nationwide collapse of the crumbling electrical grid.
Still, Mauren is grateful for the attention she's received from the medical staff who have been working tirelessly under extremely challenging conditions. The BBC was granted access to the state-run facility as a coalition of international solidarity movements arrived in Havana with boxes of aid donations for the maternity hospital. They have done everything they can for me at the hospital, she says, while her doctors are in the room. They've given me the medicines and insulin I need for the health of my baby and the placenta.
While Mauren expresses a defiant hope for the future, her concerns about giving birth during a blackout weigh heavy on her mind. Current statistics indicate there are approximately 32,800 pregnant women in Cuba, most of whom are not receiving adequate support from the healthcare system.
Similarly, expectant mother Indira Martínez, who is seven months pregnant, shares her story of struggle exacerbated by lack of electricity and inadequate nutrition. Living in a Havana suburb, she fights through power outages that leave her unable to prepare meals or receive consistent medical care. You must get up in the small hours when the power comes back on to cook whatever is available, and often it doesn't contain the vitamins and proteins I need, she laments.
Doctors in Cuba note a growing trend where women like Indira, despite challenges, continue to push through pregnancies under dire circumstances, without the support systems needed for healthy outcomes. As Cuba faces an economic crisis and rolling blackouts, the prospects for new mothers and their children remain uncertain, raising fears not just over the current situation but also regarding the future of children born into such trying times.
With her baby boy due this week, Mauren is understandably nervous. Not only has she had to endure weeks of bed rest and constant supervision, but she must now give birth in a nation experiencing rolling blackouts and days-long power cuts. Over the weekend, there was another nationwide collapse of the crumbling electrical grid.
Still, Mauren is grateful for the attention she's received from the medical staff who have been working tirelessly under extremely challenging conditions. The BBC was granted access to the state-run facility as a coalition of international solidarity movements arrived in Havana with boxes of aid donations for the maternity hospital. They have done everything they can for me at the hospital, she says, while her doctors are in the room. They've given me the medicines and insulin I need for the health of my baby and the placenta.
While Mauren expresses a defiant hope for the future, her concerns about giving birth during a blackout weigh heavy on her mind. Current statistics indicate there are approximately 32,800 pregnant women in Cuba, most of whom are not receiving adequate support from the healthcare system.
Similarly, expectant mother Indira Martínez, who is seven months pregnant, shares her story of struggle exacerbated by lack of electricity and inadequate nutrition. Living in a Havana suburb, she fights through power outages that leave her unable to prepare meals or receive consistent medical care. You must get up in the small hours when the power comes back on to cook whatever is available, and often it doesn't contain the vitamins and proteins I need, she laments.
Doctors in Cuba note a growing trend where women like Indira, despite challenges, continue to push through pregnancies under dire circumstances, without the support systems needed for healthy outcomes. As Cuba faces an economic crisis and rolling blackouts, the prospects for new mothers and their children remain uncertain, raising fears not just over the current situation but also regarding the future of children born into such trying times.
