Reducing Low Birth Weight through Integrated Learning Groups: A Pregnancy Education House Approach

Low birth weight remains a significant public health concern, as it increases the risk of morbidity and mortality in newborns. In Indonesia, pregnant women are encouraged to attend health-monitoring classes, though not all can participate.

This research aimed to develop an intervention model to enhance existing pregnant women’s classes, called “Rumah Dila” (pregnancy education house).

A quasi-experimental research was conducted with pre- and post-tests involving 60 pregnant women in the intervention group and 60 in the control group. The Rumah Dila program was implemented over six months, from the second to third trimesters. The program's impact was measured by improvements in maternal health behaviors, birth weight, and infant length.

Wilcoxon and paired sample t-tests revealed significant increases in knowledge, attitudes, and practices in both groups (p=0.001). The Cohen's d effect sizes for knowledge, attitudes, and practices were 1.861, 2.341, and 1.853, respectively. Meanwhile, the effect sizes for birth weight (0.511) and infant length (0.593) indicated a substantial impact on maternal behaviors and a moderate impact on delivery outcomes.

This research study demonstrates that well-monitored support from early pregnancy to delivery is essential to reducing the incidence of low birth weight and low birth length.