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Stunting is a serious health issue in developing countries that has long-term effects on children's growth, and it is important for parents to know about early detection of stunting so they can prevent it. The purpose of this research is to describe parents' general knowledge about early detection of stunting. This study uses a quantitative research type with a descriptive method and survey design. This study involves parents with toddlers, with a sample size of 293. The sampling technique used was consecutive sampling. Data were collected through a questionnaire that measures parents' knowledge about stunting and how stunting can be detected early. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics to describe the characteristics of the respondents and their level of knowledge. The research results show that out of 293 respondents, the educational characteristics indicate that 58.4% are at the high school level. In terms of employment, 65.5% of respondents are housewives. Meanwhile, the analysis of the respondents' age characteristics shows that the median age is 32 years. In addition, the data regarding the respondents' knowledge shows that 82.3% have a high level of knowledge. As for the questionnaire, the question that was most frequently unanswered was question number 20, which discusses reading graphs on maternal and child health (MCH). There are efforts to improve mothers' knowledge about early detection of stunting because the research results still show that there are respondents with moderate knowledge.

Approximately 151 million children under the age of five are stunted worldwide, with 55% of stunted children living in Asia and 39% of stunted children living in Africa. Based on the Basic Health Research Data (Riskdas), the prevalence of stunting in Indonesia increased to 36.8% in 2007, 35.6% in 2010, and 37.2% in 2013. Of this number, 18% were very short and 19.2% were short. Based on the 2018 Riskesdas data, the prevalence of stunted babies in Indonesia was 30.8%. Based on the 2019 Indonesian Child Nutrition Survey data, the situation in Indonesia is still relatively high, with a stunting prevalence of 27.67%. This figure shows that the stunting rate in Indonesia is still higher than in Southeast Asia at 24.7%. The results of the study showed that pregnant women's knowledge due to stunting, with an odds ratio of 9.1 (1.99–41.44), with a p value of 0.007 <0.05. To prevent stunting, an integrated and multisectoral program is needed to increase maternal awareness of child nutrition.