Pregnant women who are anemic have a thin placenta, which can negatively impact the health of their fetus, head of the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) Hasto Wardoyo has informed.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, he said that the state of health of teenage girls in Indonesia is very worrying because 36 percent of them are suffering from anemia, or blood deficiency, due to lack of proper nutrition.
When girls experience anemia during adolescence, it affects them once they become pregnant because their placenta becomes thin.
As a result, the size of their fetus shrinks, putting their baby at risk of stunting.
As most future mothers tend to forego medical examination prior to marriage, it often leads to the worsening of their anemia.
Only a small number of them are willing to get the hemoglobin level in their blood and their height, weight, and upper arm circumference checked.
“If there are 100 people who wish to get married, those who want to have their health examined, such as having their arm circumference measured, are no more than five people,” Wardyoyo informed.
This is despite the fact that undergoing a health examination before marriage can help families to create a healthy and competitive golden generation in the future.
“We are often given advice before marriage, some understand while some do not,” he remarked.
“One of the efforts to perfect our effort is to have our health examined before marriage,” he added.
To this end, BKKBN, along with Religious Affairs Ministry, on March 11, 2022, unveiled a policy that requires all couples contemplating marriage to undergo a health examination three months before tying the knot.
This is meant to ensure that the condition of all couples is corrected if they do not fulfill the requirement for marriage.
Source: Antara News