Prenatal and postnatal factors related to the incidence of stunting in the coastal area Surabaya, Indonesia

Objectives: To assess the prenatal and postnatal factors associated with the incidence of stunting in 6-24 month old children in the coastal area Surabaya, Indonesia.

Design: Observational cross-sectional study.  

Method: Total sample of 100 included mothers and 6-24 month old children fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Multistage random sampling was used. Collected data underwent bivariate and multivariate analyses. Odds ratio (OR) and risk ratio (RR) were two commonly used measures of association reported in research studies. In cross-sectional studies, the odds ratio was also referred to as the prevalence odds ratio (POR) when prevalent cases are included, and, instead of the RR, the prevalence ratio (PR) was calculated.

Results: Stunting incidence was associated with anaemia in the second trimester of pregnancy (p=0.002, PR=3.244), history of exclusive breastfeeding (p=0.003, PR=3.938), and history of maternal iron consumption during pregnancy (p=0.006,

Conclusions:Prenatal factors such as anaemia and iron consumption during pregnancy were associated with stunting. Exclusive breastfeeding was the only postnatal factor that was associated with stunting. Infants who were given exclusive breast milk had a 3.98 times lower risk of stunting compared to babies who did not get exclusive breast milk.

Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, 2020: 49(3): 223-229