Objective:

Assess whether maternal practices in complementary feeding of infants aged 4-8 months are adequate in anemia´s prevalent areas in northern Peru.

Methods:

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in 206 mothers of infants aged 4-8 months in areas of high prevalence of anemia in the Mórrope District during 2018, using stratified polystage sampling with the interview technique, and with a questionnaire validated by experts. The Office Excel 2013 and SPSS v. 23 programs were used; also the Ji-square test was used, with p( 0.05 as significant.

Results:

90.7% of the mothers were between 18 and 35 years old; 49.5% had primary education; 86.9% were housewives and 62.1% co-inhabitants. Mothers of children under 6 months of age gave more frequently porridge (75.6%) and from 6 months mainly puree (59.4%), foods rich in iron, more often liver and lentils and as iron inhibitors infusions such as anise and chamomile. The continuity of breastfeeding only with breast milk was of 68.2% in children under 6 months and 63.0% from 6 months.

Conclusions:

Maternal practices in complementary feeding in infants 4-8 months of age in anemia´s prevalent areas of (Mórrope 2018) are not adequate. Mothers mostly introduce from 6 months of age infusions such as anise and chamomile that are inhibitors of iron absorption, which can have an impact on the prevalence of anemia.