Stunting Potential Can Appear Since Pregnancy, Lebak Social Service Asks Pregnant Women To Take Care Of Nutrition

Health workers measure the height of toddlers to check for stunting at the Mekar Sari Posyandu, Batang, Central Java. (Antara-Harviyan PP)

LEBAK - The Lebak District Health Office (Dinkes) invites pregnant women to prioritize good nutrition to prevent the prevalence of stunting.

"If a pregnant woman consumes good nutrition, she will not give birth to a stunting baby," said Head of the Public Health Division of the Lebak Regency Health Office, Dr. Nurul Isneini in Lebak, Banten, Thursday, July 14.

The Lebak Regency Government optimizes public health education to increase knowledge about the importance of nutrition and nutrition.

This is because stunting cases experienced by children under five years (toddlers) are due to not consuming good nutrition, especially for pregnant women.

Therefore, to reduce the prevalence of stunting by 14 percent in 2024, pregnant women are prioritized to consume good nutrition.

"We ask pregnant women to prioritize the consumption of nutritional intake and nutrition so that the development of fetal growth is good," she said, according to Antara.

She said, pregnant women who have chronic energy deficiency (KEK), due to poor nutrition and intake, have an impact on maternal health and if giving birth to a child, the potential for stunting is huge.

The Lebak Regency Government is now providing additional food for pregnant women experiencing SEZ in the form of biscuits, milk, and vitamins.

The provision of complementary foods in all health facilities of each Public Health Center.

"We distribute complementary foods so that pregnant women are healthy and give birth to healthy babies and are not stunted," she added.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman of the Lebak Regency DPRD, Junaedi Ibnu Juarta, said that his party encouraged the handling of stunting cases to allocate a budget for complementary foods, counseling activities and outreach by family companion volunteers.

So far, the impact of children who are identified as positive for stunting will clearly give birth to a generation of people who are not qualified, because it slows down brain development so that it can make mental retardation or idiots.

"We are quite concerned about stunting prevention so that future generations of the nation have quality and human resources who are ready to compete at the international level," he said.