Children Growth Awareness: An Important Role for Reaching the Optimal First 1000 Days in Life

DOI

10.2991/assehr.k.200808.028How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Child health, growth assessment, MCHH, awareness, 1000 days

Abstract

Background and Aims: Monitoring child growth, including measurement of weight, height or length, and head circumference, plays an important role in detecting a child’s growth abnormalities and monitoring a child’s nutritional adequacy. This study aimed to measure the completeness of growth chart in maternal and child health handbook (MCHH) and identify cadres’ practices on child growth monitoring. Methods: This is a cross-sectional survey conducted in three stunting villages in Lombok Tengah, Indonesia, between June and July 2019. We evaluated 59 cadres and nutritionists using questionnaire and reviewed 205 MCHHs. Results: We found 100% (205 out of 205) of the World Health Organization (WHO) growth charts, including weight for height/length, height/length for age, and head circumference for age graphs in MCHH were not filled. Out of 59 participants, 23.7% (14 people) never participated in height/length measurement, and only 13.6% (8 people) did a head circumference measurement at least once. 94.9% (56 people) never filled or plotted WHO curves in the MCHH with the most reasons are did not know how to fill (64.4%), and 28.8% did not know that the growth chart can be filled and plotted. Implication: Routine child growth monitoring should be done especially for children under two years of age. As child growth and development screening and monitoring are important and could affect children in reaching their potentials, we suggest that government should socialize more about the importance and the urgency about child growth and development awareness to all parents and healthcare practitioners.

Copyright

© 2020, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Jeslyn Tengkawan
AU  - Ayu Anandhika
AU  - Ristania Ellya John
AU  - Zulfikar Ihyauddin
AU  - Kezia Jessica
AU  - Titi Pambudi Karuniawaty
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/08/10
TI  - Children Growth Awareness: An Important Role for Reaching the Optimal First 1000 Days in Life
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Early Childhood Education and Parenting 2019 (ECEP 2019)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 146
EP  - 150
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200808.028
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.200808.028
ID  - Tengkawan2020
ER  -