Author/Authors :
Meliati, Linda Department of Midwifery - Poltekkes Kemenkes Mataram - Mataram City, Indonesia , Karunia Ekayani, Ni Putu Department of Midwifery - Poltekkes Kemenkes Mataram - Mataram City, Indonesia , Khadijah, Siti Poltekkes Kemenkes Mataram - Mataram City, Indonesia
Abstract :
Introduction: Mothers can immediately recognize the strength of their child’s development
process, thereby, providing early stimulation to the child’s physical, mental, and social aspects
of growth and development. Therefore, mothers and their skills play a beneficial role in the
child’s overall development and growth process.
Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of the mother’s independent stimulation
on the growth and development of infants.
Materials and Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with a nonrandomized
pretest-posttest design. The study population included mothers and their 0- to 12-monthold
infants with a history of Low Birth Weight (LBW) who met the inclusion criteria.
The study was conducted in Karang Pule Health Center’s service area in Mataram City,
Indonesia. The length measuring tools and digital infant scale were used to measure the
developmental factors. Also, the prescreening development questionnaire was used to
assess the infants’ development. The frequency, mean, and standard deviation were used
as descriptive statistical analysis, also, the Wilcoxon test was used for bivariate analysis.
Results: The growth and developmental scores of the infants with LBW increased after
receiving the independent stimulation from their mothers. The observed changes were
as follows: The Mean±SD weight gain of 547.33±1459.40 g, the Mean±SD body length
increase of 3.46±6.32 cm, the Mean±SD head circumference increase of 1.65±3.40 cm, and
the Mean±SD infants’ development increase of 0.83±2.16 cm. Furthermore, the mother’s
independent stimulation affected the growth (P=0.0001; body length, weight, and head
circumference) and the development (P=0.04) of the infants with LBW history.
Conclusion: Mother’s independent stimulation significantly influences the growth (body
length, weight, and head circumference) and the development of infants with LBW history.
Further studies in this area are recommended.
Keywords :
Stimulation , Growth , Development , Low birth weight
