Knowledge and practice of preconception care among women in southeastern Mexico.

Introduction: Preconception care is intended to increase the chances of a favorable perinatal outcome; little is known about it in low- and middle income countries in Latin America.

Objective: To evaluate the knowledge and practices of PCC and its relationship with sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics in women of childbearing age in southeastern Mexico.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 138 women attending health care centers. Consecutive sampling was used, and data were collected with a structured questionnaire. Data analysis involved the calculation of frequencies, percentages, and inferential tests.

Results: Women's APC knowledge score obtained a mean of 13.3 ± 3.24 and for practices a mean of 8.13 ± 3.44 scores considered low for both. Knowledge of APC obtained a relationship with schooling (rs.460, p < .05), monthly economic income (rs =.334, p < .05). In addition, a positive and significant relationship was obtained between knowledge and practice of CPA (rs=.267, p < .05).

Discussion: These findings are consistent with results reported in studies conducted in low- and middle-income countries.

Conclusions: There is a relatively low level of knowledge and adoption of CPA practices in women of childbearing age in southern Mexico, and it is related to education and socioeconomic income, which places them in a population group at high risk for maternal and child health problems.