Health Education

Health and nutrition education for mothers

Child malnutrition remains at a significant rate, particularly in marginalised communities as a result of a number of issues other than poverty.

A significant factor in under-nourishment, experts agree, is a lack of knowledge on the part of the caregiver about what constitutes good nutrition. Some mothers just don’t know what to feed their children. Another important factor is mothers’ behaviour during feeding practices.

Basic nutritional education for mothers is therefore one of the most important activities at FMCH and, whilst children attend the Early Learning sessions, their mothers attend general health and nutrition lessons. Through games and other interactive teaching methods, mothers learn about the importance of certain types of food, breastfeeding, feeding practices, how to treat various illnesses such as children’s diarrhoea, and amongst other things, the importance of immunizations in preventing common diseases.

In addition, FMCH works with women in factories to understand help find ways to lead healthier lives.

Pregnancy classes

In Semarang in West Java and in West Timor, ante-natal services are either absent or inaccessible for many people. The Foundation for Mother and Child Health Indonesia, known locally as Yayasan Balita Sehat, has developed an education programme for pregnant women to give them the knowledge and confidence to improve their experience of pregnancy and child-birth and prepare them for their new baby.

Classes include ante-natal training, preparation for childbirth, yoga and cooking classes.

Days for Girls

As education in women’s rights and reproductive health is limited in many areas which lack services, FMCH has launched a programme to raise knowledge and awareness among girls of women’s rights and reproductive health.