Saleh A, Nurachmah E, Hadju V, As???ad S, Hamid SK. Baby nutritional status improvement through mother empowerment in baby care in South Sulawesi Indonesia. 16(1).

Baby Nutritional Status Improvement Through Mother Empowerment in Baby Care in South Sulawesi Indonesia\ud Ariyanti Saleh, Elly Nurachmah, Veni Hadju, Suryani As`ad and St. Khadijah Hamid\ud \ud Abstract: Background and Objective: The quality of baby growth at critical times is influenced both by genetic and environmental factors. One environmental factor is the role of the mother, who optimizes the innate potential of a child through care giving and stimulation. This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of mother empowerment in caring for babies of 0-6 months by providing health education with a modeling approach. Materials and Methods: This study used a quasi-experimental pre-post control group design. Statistical analyses were performed with the Wilcoxon test. The intervention was the provision of health education with a modeling approach of lactation management and baby growth stimulation. The sample was 81 people, consisting of 41 in the treatment group and 40 in the control group. Results: The results of this study at month 1 showed no significant difference in body weigh/shoulder length (p = 0.53), body weigh/age (p = 0.33), shoulder length/age (p = 0.98) and LK/U (p = 0.12). At 6 months old, there were significant differences in body weigh/shoulder length (p = 0.02), body weigh/age (p = 0.04) and shoulder length/age (p = 0.03), but there was no significant difference in the LK/U (p = 0.67). The effectiveness of mother empowerment in the care of babies through the provision of health education with a modeling approach showed an increase in baby anthropometric status. Conclusion: It is concluded that increasing mother empowerment through health education improves infant growth