ABSTRACT
Stunting is a chronic malnutrition problem characterized by short body posture and influenced by nutritional intake from the womb period. The low knowledge and motivation of pregnant women regarding stunting can be improved through Peer Counseling. This study aims to determine the effect of Peer Counseling on the knowledge and motivation of pregnant women in preventing stunting. This study used a Quasi Experiment one-group pretest-posttest design. Purposive sampling with 50 respondents. The level of knowledge and motivation was measured using a questionnaire at the pretest-posttest. Peer Counseling has been done with the lecture method through mentoring using leaflets. The test of differences in respondents’ knowledge level before Peer Counseling was carried out was moderate (37.4%). After being assisted, the category increased (80.8%). The test for the difference in the level of motivation of respondents in stunting prevention before (pre-test) peer counseling was carried out in the medium (50.4%) and after (post-test) high category (92.8%). The analysis using a t-test showed an increase in knowledge and motivation regarding stunting prevention before and after peer counseling (p = 0.000). It is concluded that Peer Counseling can increase the knowledge and motivation of pregnant women to prevent stunting.
