2023-05-01 12:15:50
Photo: Roy Leyra | CN360
Text: Cuba News 360 Writing
In a nation like Cuba, practically suffocated by a process of population aging, logic would indicate that the birth rate should be stimulated in all possible phases: before conception itself, during pregnancy and in the first months of the new life.
That is what logic would indicate and what, theoretically, government policies establish in their projections and regulations, but in practice, in the privacy of Cuban homes, conditions do not encourage families to multiply.
On paper, the priority given to this matter is clear. Decree-Law 56/2021 “Of the maternity of the worker and the responsibility of families” aims to stimulate the birth rate with a group of benefits, among them, the equality of both parents to request the leave to care for the children, as well as the protection of the working father, whether in the state or private sector.
Maternity leave in Cuba and other issues
Medical care during pregnancy, pre- and post-natal rest, breastfeeding, care for the newborn and the care provided for early ages are already naturalized rights among Cubans, as well as the much carried and brought maternity leave from from the 34th week of pregnancy awaiting delivery and up to 12 weeks after this for recovery, which then extends until the baby is one year old.
During this period, the benefits that the mother receives fluctuate, but end up being equivalent to 60 percent of her average monthly salary, calculated from what she received in the 12 months immediately prior to the birth of the child. If the figure were less than the minimum wage established in the country, the benefits would rise to that amount, as stated in the aforementioned Decree-Law.
And this would apply, in principle, to all forms of management and ownership that operate in the Cuban economy, but the fact that it is in the letter of a legal document does not mean that it is always fulfilled.
Several mothers consulted by Cuban News 360who revealed many irregularities that cloud the panorama of the birth rate: the specialists who must determine the amount of maternity leave are not always up-to-date with current legislation, the procedures for presenting certificates and the required documentation can give birth to anyone In the private sector, some business owners ignore the rights of pregnant workers…
The latter was the case of Dalila Pérez, a statuesque mulatto who worked as a waitress in a famous palate in Havana —whose name she does not want to remember— and as soon as she told her boss that she was pregnant, she began the Via Crucis that ended with her Work contract.
“They didn’t tell me that they were taking me out because I was pregnant,” she explains, “but they put so many obstacles in my way, they pointed out so many mistakes that they hadn’t pointed out to me before, and they asked me all the time how I could serve the tables when my belly grew.”
It is not general, but it is enough that there are isolated chapters for the situation to worry. What is a widespread evil, unfortunately, is the total inability of the salary benefit received to satisfy the most basic demands of pregnancy and the first months of the baby’s life, not only because of the inflationary spiral that has made everything from wet wipes to disposable culeros, but because of the chronic shortage of almost everything necessary to have a moderately dignified maternity.
With packages of pampers at more than 10 MLC, with no guarantee of soap or laundry detergent, nor the minimum protein that a postpartum woman requires, just to mention some of the most notorious precariousnesses, it is not surprising that Cuban families put in pauses their plans to procreate.
Birth rate is a multi-causal phenomenon, as defined by experts, and neither the public policies designed by the government to promote it nor the facilities that have been increased over time for women once they give birth have managed to reverse it. this sustained tendency to decrease that births have in Cuba.
The 2022 National Fertility Survey was recently developed, an instrument that proposed, in addition to interviewing those between 15 and 54 years of age, to delve into sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics, couple relationships, reproductive intentions, contraception , the distribution of tasks and the reconciliation of work-maternity/paternity.
Although the results have not yet been revealed, partial conclusions have emerged, including that if couples wait to meet the ideal conditions they will never have children; that the patriarchal vices that subjugate women still weigh heavily and, above all, that young people do not hide to admit it: they prefer to emigrate from Cuba to start thinking about bringing children into the world.
The World Health Organization already warns in its governing documents: safe motherhood encompasses the promotion and protection of the right to the highest level of health that can be achieved for women, mothers and newborns, as well as access to adequate health services and safe and efficient health systems, a subject that right now Cuba is not passing with flying colors.
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