title: [Evaluating maternal child care practices in extreme poverty areas in Peru, 2012].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate maternal and child care practices in areas with extreme poverty in Peru.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study conducted between August and September 2012; with probabilistic, three-stage stratification by "department" (geographic region) sampling. 540 households were selected that had at least one child younger than 36 months (475 households) and/or a pregnant women (80 households), in rural areas of Cajamarca, Amazonas, Huanuco, Ayacucho, Huancavelica, Apurimac, Cusco, Puno and Ucayali.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Regarding the last pregnancy, 69.0% of the mothers reported having had their first prenatal care in the first trimester; 65.3% reported having completed more than six check-ups throughout the pregnancy; 81.1% reported having given birth in a health facility, and only 31.0% chose a method of family planning within 42 days postpartum. With regard to the last child under 3 years old, 64.1% had early mother-infant contact, and 62.8% initiated breastfeeding within one hour of birth. In addition, 89.6% of children under 6 months old exclusively received breastfeeding and 89.1% of children aged 6-8 months old already had received complementary feeding. Fever, diarrhea, vomiting and breathing difficulty were the most mentioned warning signs for seeking care for children.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Through this study, a baseline has been established on which a strategy can be designed and implemented to improve best practices for maternal and child care as part of the "Programa de Apoyo" within the Health Sector Reform.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Apoyo a la Reforma del Sector Salud, Lima, Perú
authors.forename: José Enrique
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Velásquez Hurtado
authors.affiliation: Programa de Apoyo a la Reforma del Sector Salud, Lima, Perú
authors.forename: Lucía
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Solís Alcedo
authors.affiliation: Programa de Apoyo a la Reforma del Sector Salud, Lima, Perú
authors.forename: Walter Eduardo
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Vigo Valdez
authors.affiliation: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú
authors.forename: Angel Martín
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Rosas Aguirre
authors.affiliation: Programa de Apoyo a la Reforma del Sector Salud, Lima, Perú
authors.forename: Paulina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giusti Hundskopf
authors.affiliation: Programa de Apoyo a la Reforma del Sector Salud, Lima, Perú
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alfaro Fernandez
authors.affiliation: Programa de Apoyo a la Reforma del Sector Salud, Lima, Perú
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cabrera Arredondo
mesh_terms: D002654:Child Care / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D010568:Peru; D011204:Poverty Areas; D012424:Rural Population