Contents:
- Medical Video: Bad Habits That Pregnant Women Should Avoid
- Overview of stunting
- Prevent stunting in children from the time of pregnancy
- Why do pregnant women need iron intake?
- Why do pregnant women need folic acid?
- Combine folic acid and iron with supplements iron-folic acid
- Prevent stunting in children by ensuring food intake on the first 1000 days of birth
- Another thing that must be considered to prevent stunting in children
Medical Video: Bad Habits That Pregnant Women Should Avoid
Reporting from the MCA-Indonesia page, 8.9 million Indonesian children experience growth disorders. That means that one in three children in Indonesia is short because of stunting. Stunting cases in Indonesia are even higher than other countries in Southeast Asia, such as Myanmar (35%), Vietnam (23%), and Thailand (16%). However, there are many ways to prevent stunting that can be done by the mother since she was still pregnant and so on.
Overview of stunting
Stunting is a developmental disorder that causes children to have short postures, far from the average other child at the age of the same age. Stunting is usually only seen when the child is two years old.
Stunting begins to occur when the fetus is still in the womb due to maternal food intake during pregnancy that is less nutritious. As a result, the nutrition obtained by the child in the womb is insufficient. Malnutrition will inhibit baby's growth and can continue after birth.
In addition, stunting can also occur due to nutrient intake when a child under the age of 2 years is not fulfilled. Whether it's because it's not given exclusive breastfeeding, or MPASI (ASI's complementary food) that is given less quality nutrients - including zinc, iron, and protein.
The Basic Health Research Report notes that stunting cases in children continued to increase from 2010 (35.6%) to 37.2 percent in 2013. Not surprisingly, Indonesia was ranked fifth in the world for the highest number of children with stunting conditions. Stunting is an emergency in Indonesia.
The stunting effect cannot be restored if it has already happened. Moreover, malnutrition in early childhood increases infant and child mortality. So, this growth disorder must be dealt with immediately.
However, it is always better to prevent stunting than to treat it.
Prevent stunting in children from the time of pregnancy
One of the main factors that cause stunting is inadequate nutritional intake of children when children are under five years old. But actually, preventing stunting can be done early since the pregnancy. The key is of course by increasing the nutritional intake of pregnant women with good quality food. Iron and folic acid are a combination of important nutrients during pregnancy that can prevent stunting in children when they are born later.
Why do pregnant women need iron intake?
Iron deficiency during pregnancy is very common. It is estimated that half of all pregnant women worldwide are iron deficient.
If you don't get enough iron from food, your body gradually takes it from iron storage in your body so that it risks increasing anemia. According to experts, anemia caused by iron deficiency in the first two trimesters is associated with twice the risk of premature babies and three times the risk of low birth weight.
Red meat, poultry and fish are one of the best sources of iron for pregnant women. However, avoid eating chicken / goat / beef liver because the high content of vitamin A is not safe during pregnancy. You can also get iron from nuts, vegetables and seeds.
Apart from food, you should also start taking low-dose iron supplements (30 mg per day) since your first pregnancy consultation. In most cases, you will get iron intake according to that level in your prenatal vitamin. Next, you need at least 27 milligrams of iron every day during your pregnancy.
Why do pregnant women need folic acid?
The role of folic acid is very important in the development of the baby's brain and spinal cord. Taking folic acid during pregnancy can reduce the risk of pregnancy disorders by 72 percent. Folic acid helps prevent neural tube defects, congenital diseases due to failure of the development of baby organs, such as spina bifida and anencephaly.
Folic acid is part of the vitamin B group, exactly B9. You can find these nutrients in poultry meat; green vegetables (spinach, asparagus, celery, broccoli, beans, green radish, lettuce, long beans; carrots; fruits such as avocados, oranges, beets, bananas, tomatoes, orange melons; to corn and egg yolks. Seeds - seeds such as sunflower seeds (kuaci), wheat and processed wheat products (pasta) are also high in folic acid.
Pregnant women are often advised to increase their intake of folic acid through supplements. This aims to ensure that you still get the right amount for each day. By consuming 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid per day, at least from one month before you plan to become pregnant and continue until during the first trimester, you will reduce the chances of your baby being at risk of neural tube defects around 50–70%, while helping to reduce interference other births - including preventing stunting.
Combine folic acid and iron with supplements iron-folic acid
Iron-folic acid supplements (a combination of iron and folic acid) turned out to have a positive effect that should not be underestimated against the length of the baby at birth when consumed by the mother during pregnancy.
Research from Nepal found that healthy food intake coupled with the use of iron-folic acid supplements or IFA could prevent the risk of stunting in children by up to 14% when compared to mothers who had never taken IFA supplements since they were pregnant.
Prevent stunting in children by ensuring food intake on the first 1000 days of birth
Lack of nutrition in the first 1000 days of children is one of the causes of stunting that has a considerable role. As explained above, poor nutritional intake will hinder the growth of children.
Preventing stunting in infants and toddlers can be done by ensuring exclusive breastfeeding for 6 monthsfirst after birth and if it can continue until he is 2 years old. This is because breast milk has a lot of benefits, starting from giving nutrition to the baby, increasing the baby's immunity, to the benefits for the development of the brain and body.
After the age of 6 months, the baby begins to be introduced to complementary food ASI (MPASI). MPASI menu that can be given is usually in the form of crushed food that resembles fine porridge, can be from finely ground fruits, mashed potatoes, milk porridge, or porridge from rice which is mashed and filtered. When you get used to it, you can add other foods such as fish or mashed meat.
The best MPASI side dish to help prevent stunting is one egg every day. Quoted from the NHS, consuming 1 egg per day can prevent stunting in children. Eggs are a protein-rich food and a myriad of important nutrients that help meet a child's nutritional intake. Eggs are also cheap and easily available food ingredients.
Another thing that must be considered to prevent stunting in children
Every country, especially Asian countries, is increasingly aggressively launching a program to prevent stunting. Because, stunting is a serious condition that can result in long-term economic losses for the country.
From the time of pregnancy to the age of 1000 child days, or two years, it is important times to ensure the best nutritional intake. In these times the child's brain and body will be optimal to develop rapidly.
In Indonesia, according to the Indonesian Ministry of Health, a short body can also be prevented by Clean and Healthy Lifestyle (PHBS). This is a series of efforts that every household should do to improve access to clean water and environmental hygiene.
Access to good sanitation and a clean lifestyle can reduce the risk of diseases and infections. Infection caused by hygiene problems is closely related to malnutrition problems. Not infrequently, this can cause stunting problems in fetal or child development when he grows up.
