Depok, August 15th 2023. Stunting is a disorder of growth and development of children due to chronic malnutrition and recurrent infections which is characterized by their height being below standard. Based on the Indonesian Nutrition Status Survey (SSGI) of the Ministry of Health, the prevalence of stunting on children under the age of five in Indonesia will reach 21.6% in 2022. According to data from the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN), the stunting rate in Banten Province is currently in the top 5 of national stunting rankings. This certainly shows that the problem needs special attention from the government, health workers and community servants.
Departing from this background, the aculty of Pharmacy (FF) University of Indonesia (UI) team carried out Community Service (Pengmas) activities to provide education to pregnant women in Badui, Banten. This education is about the importance of caring about the intake of macro and micronutrients in the food they consume. This activity was held on Saturday (22/07/2023) and was attended by the FFUI Community Service Team chaired by Dr. apt. Santi Purna Sari, M.Si., and made of 3 members consisting of FFUI Lecturers and Education Staff.
The community service team together with health workers went to Cisadane and Batu Belah Villages, Bojongmanik District, Lebak Badui Regency, Banten Province, and carried out health checks on pregnant and lactating women. In addition, the community service team and health workers also educate them about healthy intake in the form of macronutrients (consisting of carbohydrates, protein, fat) and micronutrients (consisting of vitamins and minerals such as calcium, folic acid, iron) to pregnant and lactating women as well as giving away milk and multivitamins.
Based on data in the field, approximately 30-50% of toddlers in Badui experience stunting with various health problems. “The cause of this condition is partly due to the lack of intake of macronutrients and micronutrients from the time the child is in the womb until the age of 2 years. The pattern of parenting since the first 1000 days of life, which is the golden period for the development of vital organs in children, is the key to tackling the problem of stunting. Therefore, it is necessary to provide special education to pregnant women with higher risk to prevent stunting,” said Apt. Santi.
High-risk pregnancies found in this region include pregnant women aged less than 20 years old, the 3 or more children with birth spacing of less than 2 years, and the mother’s weight being less than 45 kg before pregnancy. Marriage that is too early causes the reproductive organs of pregnant women to develop immaturely. This means that it is not ready for pregnancy to occur. As a result, if fertilization occurs, the growth of the fetus has the potential to be imperfect, including the absorption of nutrients to the fetus and the pregnant woman.
To make it easier for some pregnant women who do not have the ability to read and write to understand, the Community Service Team provided education on macronutrient and micronutrient intake using educational posters dominated by icons and pictures. “We can prevent stunting during pregnancy by fulfilling the nutritional needs of pregnant women with the 5 points, namely the number of calories, meal schedule, type of food, route of providing nutrition and monitoring of implementation,” said Apt. Santi.
Pregnant women can find out their nutritional status and diseases they experience during pregnancy by carrying out routine checks to the doctor or midwife in the area. Apart from providing education, the team also gave away special milk for pregnant women, vitamin C, special vitamins for pregnant women from PT Novell Pharmaceutical Laboratories and cream to treat body aches from PT Taisho Pharmaceutical Indonesia, because pregnant women are prone to experiencing joint pain and aches. In this activity, the team from FFUI also worked with the Spirit Membangun Ukhuwah Islamiyah Foundation (YASMUI), Indonesian Volunteer Association (SRI), and Disaster Response Pharmacists (ATB) PD IAI Banten.
The community service team and health workers in Badui hoped that activities like this can be carried out continuously and in synergy with other agencies, both government, private, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) so that stunting cases can be prevented.
