Risk Factors of Maternal Nutrition Status During Pregnancy to Stunting in Toddlers Aged 12-59 Months

Abstract

Maternal nutrition status during pregnancy highly contributed to risk factors of stunting among children. Bone ossification approximately begins in the sixth weeks of embryonic development and continues to the end of pregnancy. However, inadequate nutrient supply in pregnant women harmed fetal growth. The study aimed to identify the association between pregnant women’s nutrition status and stunting. The case-control study using the retrospective design involved mothers with children aged 12-59 months. A proportional random sampling technique was applied to select participants. The sample was 80 toddlers, divided into 40 stunted, and 40 non-stunted toddlers. Data were taken from 27 April to 3 May 2019 through observations following the Mother and Child Health handbook and children's height. Weight gain calculation during pregnancy determined the maternal nutrition status, referred to as maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index. The univariate analysis used frequency distribution, while bivariate analysis used the chi-square test. This study obtained approval from The Health Research Ethics Committee of the Institute of Health Science of General Achmad Yani, Cimahi. The mothers' poor nutritional status caused as many as 85% of stunted toddlers' prevalence during pregnancy. Results showed that maternal nutritional status during pregnancy was significantly associated with stunting among children (p-value: 0.000). The OR value was 13,222, which means children born to mothers with inadequate nutrient supply during pregnancy were more likely to be stunted as much as 13,222 times, than children born to mothers who had good nutrient supply. It is recommended that health workers prevent stunting from pregnancy by providing supplementary food to pregnant women, and promoting the health of the maternal nutritional status during pregnancy. Suggestions for pregnant women is to increase nutrient intake and nutritional status during pregnancy to prevent stunting in children.

Determinants of Stunting in Children Aged 12 to 60 Months in Kota Waingapu District, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

“…Another variable that also had a significant relationship was the poor maternal nutritional status during pregnancy (p= 0.034), where mothers with poor maternal nutritional status (MUAC <23.5 cm) were three times more likely to have stunted children than mothers with normal nutriational status. This result aligned with Fitriani and Nurdiana (2020) showed the nutritional deficiencies in pregnant women are usually followed by deficiencies in macro and micronutrients. It that can affect the fetus during conception or after birth (Black et al, 2013;Cetin and Laoreti, 2015).…”

The Correlation between Feeding Habit Factor and The Incidence of Stunting in Children Under Five Years

“…Inadequate supply of nutrients to pregnant women impairs fetal growth. This shows that the mother's eating habits during pregnancy, which is a source of nutrition for the fetus, will affect the mother's nutritional status during pregnancy and are associated with child stunting (Fitriani, Setya, & Nurdiana, 2020). This means that the incidence of stunting is not only caused by the child's eating habits, but also influenced by the mother's nutritional status which is obtained from the habits and mother's food intake.…”

Risk Factors for the Prevalence of Stunting in Young Children and Its Prevention

“…Bone ossification approximately begins in the sixth weeks of embryonic development and continues to the end of pregnancy. Referring to a study conducted in West Java, it was suggested that underweight mothers had 13.2 times the risk of giving birth to a stunting baby [9]. In addition to the condition of underweight mothers, stunting will be 5 times higher in anemic mothers, and Indonesia still has a fairly high prevalence of anemic mothers [10].…”