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PublicationHancart Petitet P; Nm Samuel; Desclaux A; Vellore P (2008).Vcy Special Issue : Missed Opportunities For Hiv Pmtct A Case Study In South India.  Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies,3(02), pp. 120 - 125. DOI:  10.1080/17450120701867538In India, HIV Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) programs are available at tertiary hospital level and numerous women, particularly, when living in remote areas do not have access to those services. Others, living in cities are not receiving the correct information about PMTCT, or are not able to follow the entire protocol required by caregivers. For various reasons some women are lost of for? follow up. The aim of this paper is to describe the various social factors that do contribute to missed opportunities for PMTCT.The study is based on an ethnographical research conducted in rural areas with women and in a public hospital where PMTCT and Hyghly Active Anti Retrovial Therapy (HAART) programs have been set up. In- depth interviews have been conducted with women attending antenatal care, involved in PMTCT activities, or receiving HAART treatment. Interviews were also held with healthcare providers.The analysis of factors for transmission shows the intricacy of various social factors that limit women's access to PMTCT. For example: social categorization of patients done by health care givers when deciding whom to test or not; economical factors that limit the possibility of women to follow the rules required by protocols; social factors that shape discrimination and stigma of HIV infected people; inadequacy of ethical norms edited by international health institutions that are sometimes difficult to implement in some contexts. Some factors are related to the poor living conditions of women in rural areas, others are related to relationships between pregnant women and the health system, mainly through their interactions with health workers.These data are relevant to identify the missed opportunities for PMTCT regarding the integration of a continuum of surveillance and control of PMTCT. The presentation will describe and analyze factors that enhance the continuum of care regarding PMTCT and identify factors that facilitate and hinder efforts to prevent and treat HIV-related diseases in mothers and children in India.