EFFECTIVENESS OF NUTRITION EDUCATION FOR PREGNANT WOMEN IN IMPROVING NUTRITIONAL STATUS

Abstract

Pregnancy is a critical period requiring special attention to nutritional needs. Chronic Energy Deficiency and anemia in pregnant women remain serious problems in Indonesia with a CED prevalence of 16.9% and anemia of 48.9%. Tulungagung Regency faces serious challenges with anemia (6.5%) and CED (6.3%) contributing to stunting. Tanjungsari Village, Boyolangu District,.This study employed a quasi-experimental design with a one-group pre-test post-test approach. The sample comprised 30 pregnant women in Tanjungsari Village selected through purposive sampling.

There were significant improvements in nutritional knowledge (mean 62.4 → 86.7; p=0.00), attitudes (mean 45.8 → 62.5; p=0.001),  practices (mean 57.8 → 78.3; p=0.000). Nutritional status also showed significant improvements: MUAC (23.1 cm → 23.8 cm; p=0.002), body weight (54.2 kg → 56.8 kg; p=0.001), and hemoglobin levels (10.8 g/dL → 11.8 g/dL; p=0.000). The prevalence of CED risk decreased from 30.0% to 16.7%, and the prevalence of anemia decreased from 46.7% to 26.7%.