The Correlation of Maternal Behavior in Toddlers Breastfeeding with Wasting Prevention in Pidie

Besides children, teenagers also suffer from malnutrition due to certain factors. The development of wasting is considered related to mothers’ behavior during breastfeeding times. However, it has big impact towards the quality of breastfeeding. According to data from World Health Organization, 45.4 million children under the age of five were underweight in 2020, while the highest infant wasting rate nationally was 11.9% in several districts and cities from 33 provinces in Indonesia. Globally, 149.2 million children under the age five suffer from stunting, while its distribution of region in Indonesia is in Maluku and Aceh. Aceh is in fourth place of stunting with a percentage of 11.3% nationally. Based on the data related to wasting using the ratio of children’s weight to height, Pidie regency ranks third in Aceh as a whole with ratio of 15.3%. This study used a cross-sectional research with sample of 332 toddlers selected as the research object using Slovin formula. The sample data of this study was determined randomly and was taken from Pidie Regency Health Center which had a population of 1979 toddlers listed. SPSS 23 statistical software with Chisquare was used as a tool for data analysis. The findings of this study came from a bivariate statistical analysis test using the chisquare test at a confidence level of 95%, resulting in a p-value of 0.042 (p<; 0.05). This shows that the variable of maternal knowledge has an influence in keeping toddlers from experiencing wasting. The results of the chisquare test at the 95% confidence level in the bivariate statistical analysis test with p= 0.021 (p<; 0.05) showed that the maternal attitude variable had an influence on the ability of toddlers to avoid wasting. The results of the chisquare test for bivariate statistical analysis are at a confidence level of 95%: p = 0.024 (p<; 0.05). Characteristics of maternal behavior and prevention of wasting have a close correlation. Mothers' attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors towards wasting prevention are influenced by their breastfeeding practices. The best way to prevent wasting is to encourage mothers to breastfeed. The researchers stated that the increasing knowledge and attitudes of mothers in breastfeeding also improved their behavior, especially in terms of preventing wasting while breastfeeding. Supervision of health workers is expected to increase the knowledge and attitude of mothers and improve the prevention of wasting