FACTORS AFFECTING STUNTING AMONG CHILDREN UNDER FIVE YEARS OF AGE IN BANYUWANGI, EAST JAVA

Background: Stunting, chronic malnutrition, results from the exposure of the fetus and young child to nutritional deficiency and infectious disease. In Indonesia, 30.8% of children were stunted, in which 26.2% was in East Java and 8.1% Banyuwangi Regency. This study aimed to investigate the factors affecting stunting among children under five years of age in Banyuwangi, East Java. Subjects and Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Klatak and Wonosobo Community Health Centers, Central Java. a sample of 60 children under five years of age was selected for this study. The study variables were child's gender, maternal age at pregnancy, maternal education, maternal work status, iron intake, history of chronic energy deficiency, exclusive breastfeeding, supplementary feeding, and history of infectious disease. The frequency distribution data were reported descriptively. Results: The majority of stunted children under study were male (53.3%). Most of the women were at age 20 to 34 years during pregnancy (58.3%). As many as 73.3% mothers were low educated. Most of the mothers were housewives (85%). 78.3% of women took iron supplement during pregnancy. Most of the children did not have the history of chronic energy deficiency (60%). Most of the children received exclusive breastfeeding (61.7%) and supplementary feeding (65%). Only a few children had the history of infectious disease (6.7%). Conclusion: The characteristics of subjects under study vary with maternal age at pregnancy, maternal education, maternal work status, iron intake, history of chronic energy deficiency, exclusive breastfeeding, supplementary feeding, and history of infectious disease. Keywords: stunting, children under five years of age, factors Correspondence: Endah Kusuma Wardani. Midwifery Program, School of Health Sciences Banyuwangi. Jl. Letkol Istiqlah No. 109, Banyuwangi, East Java, 68422. Email: qsuma89@yahoo.com. Mobile: +6282257193736