Dear Pregnant Mother, This Is A Way To Measure LILAS To Ensure No Energy Lack

Pregnant Mother (Photo: Pexels)

JAKARTA - The health of pregnant women is important to pay attention to because children have a direct impact on the health of the fetus they contain. One way that can be done easily is to measure the upper arm circumference (LILA).

Unlike body weight that can change in a fast time, the size of a person's LILA takes a long time to change. From LLAS, a person's nutritional status and whether he experiences chronic energy deficiency (SEZ) or cannot be known.

The normal value limit set by the Indonesian Ministry of Health for LILA is 23.5 cm. If a woman or pregnant woman has a LILA that is less than 23.5 cm, she is considered to have a nutritional status that is lacking and has a SEZ.

"If it is less than 23.5 centimeters, it is most likely malnutrition. So, usually, additional food is given free of charge. Additional food is usually given to mothers who suspect chronic lack of energy," said clinical nutrition specialist dr. Raissa Edwina Djuanda, M.Gzi, Sp.GK quoted from ANTARA, Wednesday, January 24.

Raissa said, a number of other criteria to identify pregnant women with chronic energy shortages (SEZs) are less than 42 kilograms of weight and less than 145 centimeters of height.

In addition, the weight in the first trimester was less than 45 kilograms, the body mass index (IMT) before pregnancy was less than 17 and suffered from an anemia characterized by Hb being less than 11.

According to him, weight gain as expected is important. Pregnant women with IMTs are less than 18.5, for example, should increase their weight in the first trimester by one to three kilograms and average weight gain per week by 0.44 to 0.58 kilograms.

Meanwhile, IMT is more than 30, weight gain in the first trimester is 0.2 to two kilograms and the average weight gain per week is 0.17 - 0.237 kilograms.

The chronic lack of energy (SEZ) often occurs in pregnant women due to a lack of energy for a long period of time. One of the impacts of this condition is the increased risk of maternal mortality, babies born with low weight and stunting.

Basic Health Research Data in 2018 showed that 48.9 percent of pregnant women had anemia and 17.3 percent of pregnant women experienced a Kronistic Energy Lack (SEZ).

Raissa said specific nutritional interventions are needed in pregnant women by providing additional food to overcome energy shortages and chronic proteins, overcoming iron and folic acid shortages, overcoming iodine shortages, tackling worms in pregnant women, protecting pregnant women from malaria.

"There is also a tablet that adds blood, the infectious disease must also be overcome. When pregnant, additional needs are needed to support metabolism, fetal growth," he said.