Community Service in Jeneponto Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia: Smart Mother Movement Through Local Cultural Practices and Life-Course Nursing to Improve Maternal Health and Reduce Stunting

The present paper represents a community service conducted in Jeneponto Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, focusing on improving maternal health and reducing stunting through the empowerment of mothers using local cultural practices. Activities were facilitated by lecturers from the Faculty of Health, Universitas Patria Artha. The program adopted a Life-Course Nursing approach, which distinguishes it from similar initiatives at other universities that commonly rely solely on clinical interventions or standard health education. Rather than applying a conventional top-down health promotion model, this program integrated the Smart Mother Movement (Gerakan Ibu Cerdas) by embedding local Jeneponto cultural practices into maternal care and child nutrition guidance. The aim was to foster behavioral change in mothers regarding childcare and nutritional practices while strengthening community awareness of stunting prevention. The program encompassed health education sessions, local cultural practice training incorporating traditional food and customs, as well as health screenings and stunting assessments. The outcomes indicate meaningful shifts in maternal behavior toward improved parenting and nutritional practices, suggesting that culturally grounded nursing interventions offer a sustainable pathway to reducing stunting prevalence at the community level. These findings highlight the potential of integrating life-course nursing principles with local wisdom as an effective strategy for community-based maternal and child health development.

Community service, maternal health, stunting prevention

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