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Archiver > CUBA > 2001-01 > 0978448781


From: "Hughes, Rebecca B." <>
Subject: RE: [CUBA] About hospital records
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2001 10:19:41 -0500


Thanks Maria: I am taking another writer's advice and writing to hospital,
however futile that may be. I will let you know.

-----Original Message-----
From: M/J Collins [mailto:]
Sent: Sunday, December 31, 2000 8:52 PM
To:
Subject: [CUBA] About hospital records


I have not tried to obtain hospital records from Cuba or anywhere else,
but I imagine they would be very difficult (maybe impossible) to get, and
probably have less information that birth or baptismal certificates. From
what I remember of the Cuba of the 1940's and 50's, there were quite a few
private hospitals which were called "clínicas" and that is where middle and
upper class people went for surgeries, births, etc. The poor went to
government hospitals (I think they were free), or had their babies at home,
most likely attended by a midwife.
My brother was born in a "clínica" in the city of Matanzas. I was
supposed to be born in the same place, but since I decided to arrive early,
while my mother was visiting her parents in a small town, and there was no
time for her to get to the city, a local physician was summoned to deliver
me at my grandparents' house. This may sound like something out of the dark
ages, but sixty years ago, even in the U.S. many babies were born at home,
and physicians made house-calls.
The point of this story is that contacting hospitals in Cuba for birth
information is likely to be an exercise in futility. Even if they have
birth records, I doubt that they would be willing to make them available,
specially to someone who doesn't live in Cuba.
If you want to know exactly were you were born, I suggest asking older
relatives or family friends who might remember. Good luck.
María Collins


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