This video report by Oscar Durand and Elie Gardner for The World originally appeared on PRI.org on February 23, 2014 and is republished as part of a content sharing agreement.

In rural Peru, women are encouraged to spend their last weeks of pregnancy in special residential facilities that offer comfort and care. But the waiting remains difficult.

To prevent women from giving birth at home, where they face a higher risk of death, Peru has established a network of maternal “waiting houses.” These residential facilities host women from rural areas during their final weeks of pregnancy, so they can give birth in the presence of skilled attendants. Ana María Bolege, 21, has come to a waiting house in the Andean town of Ayacucho, three hours by road from her home.

This story is part of PRI's The Ninth Month series, a journey through pregnancy and childbirth, across cultures and continents. Join the Ninth Month community on Facebook to share stories about childbirth where you live. Twitter hashtag #ninthmonth