Path Analysis: Effect of Gestational Factors, Psychosocial Factors, and Maternal Class-Room Program on Toddler Growth

Abstract

Background: According to David Barker’s fetal origins hypothesis, the period of gestation has significant impacts on the developmental health and wellbeing outcomes for an individual ranging from infancy to adulthood. In the current study, toddlers growth is hypothesized to be affected by various gestational exposure and psychosocial factors at early childhood. In addition,the government has launched the class-room program for mothers of toddlers, which aimed improve maternal ability to raise healthy children. This study aimed to determine the effect of gestational factors,psychosocial,andmaternalclass-room programon toddler’s growth. Subjects and method: This was an observational analytical study with case-control design. The study was conducted in Banjarnegara, Central Java, Indonesia, from July 29 to August 31, 2016. A total of 120 toddlersaged 3 months to 5 years old along with their motherswere selected for the study by fixed exposure sampling. The exogenous variables were family support, family income, maternal education, maternal physical activity, and maternal participation in the class-room program. The endogenous variables were toddler’sbirthweight, weightfor age,height for age, weight for height. The data were collected with a questionnaire and anthropometric measures. The data were analyzed using path analysis model. Results: Maternal education (b=-2.44; p<0.001), birth weight (b= 0.01; p=0.038), family support (b = 0.04; p = 0.048), and maternal participation in the class-room program (b=1.29; p=0.007), had direct significant effect on toddler’s weight for age. Birth weight (b= 0.14; p=0.279), maternal participation in the class-room program (b=4.92; p=0.020), maternal education (b=-11.76; p=0.209) had direct significant effect on toddler’s height for age. Birth weight (b<0.01; p=0.047), maternal participation in the class-room program (b=0.01; p=0.016), family income (b=-0.01; p=0.549), maternal education(b=-0.01; p=0.008) had direct significant effect on toddler’s weight for height. The goodness of fit statistics for the three outcome variables indicated the goodness of fit of the model specified in the path analysis. Conclusion: Somegestational factors,psychosocialfactors, and maternal participation in the class-room have significant effects on toddler’s growth. Keywords: path analysis, gestation period, psychosocial factors, toddler’s growth Correspondence : Gita Ayu Indria. Masters Program of Public Health, Sebelas Maret University, Jl. Ir. Sutami 36 A, Surakarta 57126, Central Java. Email: gitaindria@gmail.com. Journal of Maternal and Child Health (2016), 1(1): 53-61 https://doi.org/10.26911/thejmch.2016.01.01.08