Abstract
Background: Oil palm plantations are usually located far from the city center which means access to health services is quite difficult. Changes in women's work from the domestic sector to the public sector, as plantation workers have an impact on women's health and nutritional status, also causing changes in feeding practices. This results in nutritional deficiencies such as underweight or Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) or anemia in women and malnutrition or stunting in children. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between maternal nutritional status and feeding practices for toddlers with the incidence of stunting in oil palm farmer households in Muaro Jambi.
Subjects and Method: This was a cross sectional study conducted in Muaro Jambi, Indonesia. A sample of 276 mothers had children under five was selected for this study. The dependent variable was stunting. The independent variables were maternal nutri�tional status, morbidity, and feeding patterns. Stunting was measured using anthropo�metric measurements. The data were analyzed by multiple logistic regression.
Results: Factors related to the incidence of stunting were maternal nutritional status, infectious diseases, feeding patterns, age at first marriage, age at pregnancy, symptoms of anemia, CED, and maternal education. The dominant factor of stunting in children under five in oil palm farming families was the nutritional status of mothers (aOR = 1.91; CI 95% = 1.07 to 3.40) after being controlled by infectious diseases, feeding patterns, age at first marriage, age at pregnancy, sanitation, symptoms of anemia, CED, and maternal education.
Conclusion: Mothers with underweight nutritional status is the main cause of stunting in children under five in oil palm farming families after being controlled by infectious diseases, feeding patterns, age at first marriage, age at pregnancy, sanitation, symptoms of anemia, CED, and maternal education.
Article Data
