Women's Contribution to Improving Children’s Nutritional Status

Abstract

. Undernutrition among children under five are still a problem in the developing countries. Recent basic health survey in Indonesia had shown that the number of undernutrition is increased, mainly stunting conditions among children which reached the prevalence more than 20% in several places. This article aims to review contribution of women in improving nutritional status among children in the family. A literature study was conducted to explain and find out the role of women in a family to improve family food consumption and nutrition. We used keywords nutritional status, women empowerment, risk factors, and undernutrition through online resources such as Science Direct, Google Scholar and Pub Med. After searching the articles, we found 22 articles that related to the topic. Then, we reviewed and analyzed for discrepancies in this literature study. We found that specific women empowerment indicators like education and employment status, are factors that have related to children's nutritional status. There is a direct impact to women's empowerment on children's nutritional status by improving women's health. So, it's recommended to design a comprehensive intervention based on women empowerment to enhance child nutrition status through involvement in decision-making in family activities, especially on produce and process of food.