Date of Award
4-6-2025
Document Type
Thesis
First Advisor
Angela Castañeda, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Martha Espinosa, Ph.D.
Third Advisor
Todd Foster, Ph.D.
Abstract
The primary aim of this research is to contrast personal testimonies from birthing women in Cuba with the frequently boasted Cuban health statistics in order to illuminate important discrepancies existing between what is reported by the state versus the reality of individual experiences. Investigation into women’s personal testimonies of mistreatment within maternity homes and hospitals in Cuba will reveal significant disparities that exist within the socialist healthcare system that have otherwise gone unconsidered. In order to contextualize these lived experiences as products of problematic post-revolutionary ideologies, the political, economic, and social stakeholders in the Cuban healthcare system will be outlined. Therefore, the relationship between political motives and health outcomes in Cuba brings forth important implications for health statistics that extend beyond just a measurement of public well-being, but also as a genuine point of moral legitimacy of Cuba’s socialist society.
Recommended Citation
Urban, Brynn '25, "What’s Behind a Number? An Analysis of Maternal Healthcare in Cuba and the Impact of Policy on Women’s Autonomy" (2025). Honor Scholar Theses. 304, Scholarly and Creative Work from DePauw University.
https://scholarship.depauw.edu/studentresearch/304