A Healthy Baby Thanks to PHMF’s Support

Entering the second year of Priscilla Hall Memorial Foundation’s support of YUM’s health project, we are now seeing positive results of the work that’s being done on the field. One success story is that of a young mother called Fina (not her real name). Fina joined the Integrated Community Health Post (Posyandu) after her first-month of pregnancy of her first child. Thankfully, the Posyandu is located near her house in the sub-district of Sukaresmi, West Java. During her regular monthly visits to the Posyandu, she had her hemoglobin level checked as well as the overall health of her pregnancy. Together with other Posyandu participants, she had interactive sessions with the volunteer health worker (kader) who shared information about healthy pregnancy, mother and child health, stunting and its prevention. Fina also received iron supplement tablets and nutritious food every month. The package consisted of rice, vegetables, fruit, special milk for pregnant women, and one kind of protein, such as meat, fish, tofu, tempeh, or eggs. At the beginning of this September, Fina gave birth to a healthy baby girl!.

I cannot express in words how grateful my husband and I are for the support that we have received since the beginning of my pregnancy. Both my baby and I are healthy and well. The kader, midwife and the YUM staff at the Posyandu have shared a lot of useful information about the mother and the baby’s health pre and post delivery, especially about stunting and its prevention. The smart blanket has been a great gift for me and my baby. I can use that as a guideline for my child’s development and a reminder on how to prevent stunting from happening.

YUM plans to distribute 100 smart blankets to new mothers in Cipanas, West Java before the end of the year. The blanket features useful information about health practices to ensure a healthy baby and prevent stunting. The blanket is one of the tools that we will be using to increase stunting awareness, alongside smart charts, videos, script charts and banners put up during Posyandu.