Parental Stress, Feeding Practices, and Wasting in Children
Izka Sofiyya Wahyurin1*, Hiya Alfi Rahmah1, Shofura Hanum1

1Nutrition of Sciences, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Indonesia

Abstract

Background: The occurrence of wasting in children is linked to the maternal role. It is advised that children receive nutritious and high-quality food by specific meal types, quantities, and timing to promote the child^s nutritional well-being. Furthermore, maternal stress is a contributing factor that can impact parental feeding practices.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between parental stress and feeding practices with child wasting.

Methods: In June and July 2021, a cross-sectional observational study was conducted in Teluk Village, South Purwokerto. The study involved 64 moms who had young children between the ages of 6 and 59 months. Anthropometric measurements were done to measure toddlers^ wasting status. The feeding practices variable uses measuring instruments using the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) to see the parents^s stress level. Statistical analyses were conducted using Chi-Square and Fisher^s exact test

Results: The result showed that up to 6.8% of children have declining nutritional status, 43.8% of mothers report severe parental stress, and 75% of mothers feed their children insufficiently. There was no significant relationship between parental stress with wasting incidence (p-value = 0.38). There was no significant relationship between feeding practices (meal types, quantities, and timing) with wasting incidence (p-value = 0.5- 0,35- 0,19).

Conclusion: There was no significant relationship between parental stress and feeding practices with child wasting in the South Purwokerto Health Center working area.

Keywords: Parental Stress, Feeding Practices, Wasting

Topic: Nutrition and functional food