"If you want to get pregnant, do not play around," he said at a Community Movement (Germas) event held by the Health Polytechnic of the Ministry of Health in Jakarta on Thursday, according to an official statement.
He highlighted that the rate of unintended pregnancies in Jakarta is still quite high, even though the stunting rate is recorded to be in line with the national target.
"Unintended pregnancies in Jakarta are still quite high, namely 26 percent (of the number of pregnancies), even though the stunting rate has already matched the target of 14 percent," he said.
Based on data from the 2022 Indonesian Nutritional Status Survey (SSGI), the highest stunting prevalence in Jakarta was recorded in the Seribu Islands district, namely at 20.50 percent, and the lowest was registered in South Jakarta city at 11.90 percent.
Wardoyo highlighted the importance of using contraceptives for planning pregnancies to prevent the birth of stunted babies.
Contraceptives are important because there are many cases of women who get pregnant too soon after giving birth, he explained.
"Preconception (health check) is more important than pre-wedding (photoshoot). Preparations for pregnancy in women are needed 3 months (before)," he said.
Currently, the BKKBN has the Ready to Get Married, Ready to Get Pregnant Electronic Application (Elsimil) that can be used by prospective brides and grooms to record their data. The application includes education on pre-marriage readiness, pregnancy readiness, reproductive health, contraceptives, and cancer prevention.
Wardoyo, who is also a gynecologist, further said that women who give birth to female babies will also affect the health of their future grandchildren because female babies have egg cells from the time they are in the womb.
"For this reason, women need to be properly prepared for their pregnancy 3 months in advance, men need to be prepared (undergo a health check) 75 days before the honeymoon," he said.
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Translator: Lintang Budiyanti, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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