Maternal-Child Health Expert Of The Ministry Of Health: Premature Babies Are 2 To 3 Times The Risk Of Suffering From Stunting

JAKARTA - Director of Nutrition and Maternal and Child Health, Ministry of Health, dr. Erna Mulati said babies born prematurely had a two to three times risk of suffering from stunting.

"Premature babies have 2-3 times the risk of stunting," said Erna in a webinar entitled 'Prevention and Management of Malnutrition for Toddlers as an Effort to Prevent Stunting in Indonesia' which was attended in Jakarta, Antara, Tuesday, July 26.

He added that the risk increases if babies born prematurely have low birth weight and length.

"If he was born prematurely and has a low birth weight and a low body length, this has seven times the risk factor," he said.

Erna requested that babies with these conditions be immediately treated by a pediatrician.

"Premature babies, low birth weight, birth length less than 48 cm, we cannot give them to cadres, companion teams or midwives because these require special treatment so we hope that these children are under the control of a pediatrician. ," he said.

He said the government had a target to reduce stunting cases by 10 percent by 2024.

"In two years we must be able to reduce to 10 percent and it seems a bit difficult to reduce 5 percent in one year, but it's not impossible for us to do," he said.

Erna also said areas with high stunting cases should have easy access to hospitals and get treatment by pediatricians.