Mothering in Jakarta's slums

IIn Indonesia, Yurlina has learnt mothering skills that have made her son Nino's life healthier and happier.

Giving birth and raising children is made even more challenging for the mothers worldwide who don't have access to reliable parenting information. Plagued by malnutrition, disease and poor sanitation, Jakarta’s slums provide particular challenges to mothers.

Sri Wahyuni is pregnant with her second child. “I am so happy and scared at the same time, waiting for the delivery. What should I do to stay healthy, and how to make sure my baby in the womb also stays healthy?” she asks.

Living in the slums of Jakarta, Sri is one of more than 20 million people living in urban poverty in Indonesia. Her husband works as a milkman, earning less $3.20 per day, so Sri runs a small food stall in front of their house to make ends meet.

Without sources of clean water, diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, cholera and acute respiratory infection are common in Indonesia’s slums. Around a quarter of Sri’s family income will be spent buying drinkable water for her husband and children.

Raising a family in the Jakarta slums means a high risk of death in childbirth for mothers. Many babies are born with abnormalities and below healthy birth weights.

Most new mothers don’t know how to care for their children when they arrive. Sri’s confusion is typical. “If I give birth, what food I should give to my baby so that this child can grow well? Oh... so many questions in my head that I am curious to know, but I just get a headache thinking of it."

Another new parent in Jakarta’s slums, Yurlina, participated in Pos Bumil, a World Vision support programme for pregnant and lactating mothers. Over five days of training, Yurlina got advice on antenatal care while she was still pregnant.

For Yurlina, the skills and information she gained has given her more confidence. “I know how to breastfeed correctly, how I should position the baby, what the benefits of breastmilk are, and that the first milk is very, very important and should not be thrown away,” she smiles proudly.

Every programme is facilitated by a qualified midwife and mothers can raise any of their concerns with the midwife. As well as health education, the sessions cover pregnancy exercise, nutrition and the importance of regular check-ups and immunisation.

Yurlina and her son Nino have seen many benefits from completing the programme. “From the time of his birth till now, Nino has never caught any disease. He’s very healthy and very active. I can save money as well from not having to buy milk, and it’s so practical because I don’t have to prepare the milk, the bottle and the hot water.”

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This is one of several programmes that World Vision offers to support mothers in Jakarta and around the world. To help mothers like Yurlina and Sri learn about keeping their children alive, you can sponsor a child and make a difference towards an entire community.

You can also learn more about our Child Health Now campaign.