Stunting is a condition in which a child experiences a growth disorder which causes his length or height to not grow according to his potential. Therefore, stunted children have shorter bodies than other children of their age.
Stunting does not happen suddenly. In general, stunting is caused by inadequate nutrition. This condition can begin even when the fetus is still in the womb until it continues after the baby is born, especially in the first 2 years of life. The causes include the family's socioeconomic conditions, inappropriate feeding practices , and if the child suffers from an infection or chronic illness.
This process causes stunting to be different from stunted children . A child is said to be short stature if his height based on his age is below the Z-score -2 based on the WHO child growth chart. Stunted conditions can be caused by genetic and family factors, for example if both parents are also short stature.
What are the signs and symptoms of stunting in children?
Based on the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, a child can be said to be stunted when he has measured his length/height, then compared it to the standard for measuring height according to age from WHO, and the measurement results are below the standard. Thus, stunting cannot be seen based solely on feelings or roughly without any definite measurement. In addition to length/height, weight measurement is also important to determine short stature due to nutritional problems or not.
There are several signs and symptoms that distinguish children who are stunted, including:
- Has a shorter body than his age
- Weight does not increase, even tends to decrease
- Experiencing developmental delays according to his age
- Children become more susceptible to various infectious diseases
- Having intellectual impairment later in life
You can find out whether a child's height is normal or not by checking the child's condition regularly at the nearest health service such as a doctor, midwife, posyandu, or puskesmas.
What can be done to prevent stunting?
Stunting cases in Indonesia are a problem that is not only caused by nutritional problems, but also reflects the socioeconomic level of a country. Research shows that mothers with low levels of education are more prone to having stunted children. On the other hand, children who are stunted have the potential to experience learning problems and will have lower income levels when they become adults. The data owned by the Nutrition Status Monitoring (PSG) from the Indonesian Ministry of Health shows that the number of stunted children in Indonesia can be considered quite high. Therefore, handling stunting in children is a joint task from the government, community, and family levels.
At the family level, there are several ways to prevent stunting, including:
For pregnant and maternity women
- Provision of foods with high protein for pregnant women
- Regular and periodic pregnancy checks/ antenatal care
- Prevention and treatment of anemia (lack of blood) in pregnant women
- Carry out the delivery process at the nearest health facility such as a doctor, midwife, or puskesmas
For toddlers
- Perform exclusive breastfeeding for 6 full months
- Provide proper complementary food for breast milk (MP-ASI) for babies
- Routinely monitor the growth and development of toddlers using the MCH book or growth curves
- Early detection of communicable and non-communicable diseases
- Complete immunization
- Do early stimulation of child development
- Provide clean drinking water and proper sanitation
- Providing optimal health services and care when children are sick
For children and teenagers
- Familiarize children with clean and healthy living habits, not smoking, and not using drugs
- Provide a balanced nutritional pattern
- Carry out further immunization at school age
- Teach children about reproductive health
For young adults
- Conduct early detection of communicable and non-communicable diseases
- For those who are already married, prepare for a planned pregnancy (family planning)
Those are some of the symptoms and ways to prevent stunting in children that can be done. If you feel that your child or someone close to you is stunted, immediately take them to the nearest health facility so they can be consulted.
The article was written by dr. Himawan Aulia Rahman, Sp.A (Children Specialist at EMC Tangerang Hospital).