Jakarta –
Recently, the content of folic acid to prevent stunting suddenly became a topic of conversation after Vice Presidential Candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka ‘slipped his tongue’, aka sprained his tongue. Gibran then apologized and clarified the meaning of ‘sulfuric acid’ which he said previously was folic acid.
Apart from these cases, how important is folic acid intake during pregnancy to prevent stunting?
Child development specialist Dr. Bernie Endyarni Medise, SpA(K), MPH, from the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI) emphasized that giving folic acid is crucial in early pregnancy.
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“So folic acid is needed for the formation of the nervous system in the fetus, so it is needed in pregnant women, even preferably during the very early stages of pregnancy,” said Dr. Bernie, when met on the sidelines of the Parenthood Institute Primaku event, Sunday (10 /11/2023).
For pregnant women who may only find out about their pregnancy period after two to four weeks of pregnancy, there is no harm in immediately increasing their folic acid supplementation needs. Folic acid is not only obtained from supplements, daily food can also enrich the needs of this content, including eggs.
Nuts, foods high in protein, and a number of fruits such as avocado are also rich in folic acid.
“That is, if you are pregnant, you must first have sufficient folic acid. There are actually many substitutes for folic acid, from daily food, such as eggs, which are also sufficient, in essence the need for folic acid must be met,” he continued.
Dr. Bernie reminded that the first 1,000 days of life are the ‘golden time’ for a child’s growth and development. If children do not have adequate nutrition, the risk of stunting is relatively high. It’s not just a matter of growth disorders such as height, but stunting can affect a child’s brain development, including behavioral and cognitive deficits.
Children who experience stunting tend to experience delays in language and fine motor development. The stunting rate in Indonesia as of 2022 is still at 21.6 percent, the government is targeting the trend to be reduced to 14 percent in 2024.
Watch the video “Once called Gibran, this is the difference between sulfuric acid and folic acid”
[Gambas:Video 20detik]
(naf/kna)
2023-12-10 23:00:00
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