Stunting, whose symptoms are known in the early stages of life or a child's early age, can cause short-term and long-term detrimental effects.
Growth disturbances starting at 1000 HPK (First Day of Life calculated from conception) up to two years of age will determine the quality of a child's development.
Stunting cannot be cured.
If a toddler experience stunting, it can't be cured. What can be done is to improve nutrition and quality of life.
The causes of stunting that occur early in the womb will be carried over to the birth of the child and will be discovered physically when the child is around two years old because their growth is slower than children of their age.
How to prevent stunting
Nutritional needs are fulfilled since pregnancy.
Actions that are relatively effective in preventing stunting in children are always meeting nutritional needs since pregnancy. Pregnant women must consume healthy and nutritious food and supplements on the advice of a doctor.
Routinely checking the health of pregnant women with the doctor or midwife is also important because it can be monitored whether the nutritional needs of the mother and the fetus are fulfilled.
Exclusive breastfeeding
Mother's Milk (ASI) contains micro and macronutrients, which have the potential to reduce the chances of stunting in children. It is highly recommended that mothers give exclusive breastfeeding for six months to their babies without other complementary foods.
Whey and colostrum proteins found in mother's milk are also considered capable of boosting the immune system of infants who are still relatively vulnerable.
Accompany exclusive breastfeeding with healthy complementary foods
After exclusive breastfeeding, when the baby reaches the age of 6 months and above, complementary foods can be given; ensure the foods provided can fulfill the micro and macronutrients that previously only came from breast milk to prevent stunting.
Various choices of healthy complementary foods (MPASI) menus, from choosing organic ingredients free of pesticides and processing methods that do not lose nutritional value to easy menu variations.
Continue to monitor the growth and development of children.
The obligation of parents is not only to provide food and care, but it is also important to monitor the growth and development of children, especially from the child's height and weight.
The government program through Posyandu is well followed because it will record the child's development so that it will be easier for the mother to know the early symptoms of the disorder and how to handle it.
Always keep the environment clean.
A dirty environment is prone to inviting diseases such as diarrhea because children are still vulnerable and like to play on the floor, yard, or ground without knowing whether the place is clean or not.
The cleanliness factor indirectly increases the chance of stunting, so paying attention to environmental conditions at home and around is necessary. A clean house but the yard is full of dirty trash will still have a lot of bacteria.
Stunting is a significant threat to the quality of Indonesian people and the nation's competitiveness in the world.
This is because children with stunting are not only disturbed by their physical growth (short/dwarf stature) but also by their brain development.
Of course, it will affect children's abilities and achievements at school, productivity, and creativity at productive ages. Let's suppress the prevalence of stunting together!
Reference:
Moms Money. (2021). Cara Mencegah Stunting pada Anak-Anak, Sudah Tahu? [Online] https://www.momsmoney.id/news/cara-mencegah-stunting-pada-anak-anak-sudah-tahu
Direktorat Jenderal Perbendaharaan Kementrian Keuangan RI. (2022). Stunting, Apa, Penyebab dan Upaya Penanganannya [Online] https://djpb.kemenkeu.go.id/kppn/lubuksikaping/id/data-publikasi/artikel/3012-stunting,-apa,-penyebab-dan-upaya-penanganannya.html