A pregnant woman dies due to alleged medical negligence in Havana.

A Cuban mother reported the death of her pregnant daughter, Laura Castillo Zulueta, due to alleged medical negligence at the Hijas de Galicia hospital in Havana.

Laura's mother, Janet Zulueta Curbelo, stated in a Facebook post that the Materno Hijas de Galicia Hospital committed several negligences in the case of the young woman, who passed away during an emergency surgical procedure when she was seven months pregnant.

According to the woman's account, Laura was taken to that center twice on Wednesday, May 15, and there she was "mistreated and poorly taken care of."

It is pointed out that the young woman received negligent treatment, with an altered urine analysis that did not receive the necessary attention. It is then stated that due to the lack of professionalism at that center, it was decided to urgently transfer her to the National Hospital, where despite the efforts of this institution, the young woman passed away.

The Materno Hijas de Galicia Hospital responded to these accusations through an official statement where it shifts the responsibility to the woman, supposedly for taking her daughter home when she was supposed to be transferred to the National Hospital, despite warnings from the doctors.

According to the maternal institution, Castillo Zulueta arrived due to complications associated with an underlying disease, Aganglionic Megacolon, a condition that presents significant risks during pregnancy and has a high incidence of maternal and fetal mortality.

The text, published on Facebook by the director of the hospital in question, Ernesto Cordoví, states that "it was decided to transfer Laura to the Maternal Critical Reference Center for a more specialized evaluation"; and there it was decided that she should undergo surgery by the experts at the National Hospital, so the SIUM was activated.

The patient (painfully deceased) Laura Castillo Zulueta, 29 years old with a history of Aganglionic Megacolon (Hirschsprung's Disease) and 25 weeks of gestation (with a non-viable pregnancy based on gestational age adjusted to our country's laws) had come to our institution to be evaluated because she had not had a bowel movement in 5 days and slight abdominal pain. Following the evaluation by our specialists and committee, it was concluded that there was a possible complication associated with her underlying disease, so it was collectively decided to send her to the Maternal Critical Care Reference Center in Havana City (National Hospital) to be evaluated by General Surgeons with expertise in these cases," the note states.

The hospital maintains that during the evaluation in the emergency room, Laura showed signs of stability and improvement, and the patient's mother refused to consent to the transfer to the National Hospital, signing a non-transfer order under her responsibility.

Once at home, Laura had another recurrent episode of her symptoms, and her mother took her directly to the National Hospital, where she underwent surgery. Unfortunately, she suffered a cardiopulmonary arrest from which she could not recover.

The Maternity Hospital Daughters of Galicia has stated that everything possible was done to provide the necessary care to Laura Castillo Zulueta, and attached a photo of the surgical procedure that, according to them, confirms the diagnosis made at their medical center.

The physician states that "the deceased's mother SIGNED the SIUM order stating that she would not be transferred under their responsibility, as stated in a legal document. She also stated that she was an adult and that she would take her under her responsibility, that she was responsible for everything that happened to her daughter. Dr. Manuel told her the last thing he heard at our institution: 'you don't know what you're doing'".

At the end of the message, Cordoví points out that "care in Cuba is free, not mandatory" and that "adults are responsible for their acts and actions."

Reports like these have emerged in recent months, and Cuban authorities have blamed the families of the patients for the tragic outcomes.

A few months ago, a baby died at a polyclinic in Havana, and the doctors blamed the mother, who allegedly took the baby home with her consent.

However, the outraged young woman denied that anything like that had happened, and said that her son died because he was given the wrong medication.