The effectiveness of the intervention of Sehat Umakna Sehat Anakna towards improving the behavior, knowledge and attitude of pregnant mother towards maternal and neonatal care in Mandailing Natal, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia

Behavior that can influence the status of public health cannot be separated from the culture of the community itself and family habit in a treatment. Mandailing Natal (Madina) district is one of the regions with high maternal and child mortality rate, and the life of the community is very much influenced by their tradition and culture. This is a quasi-experimental study with an intervention in the form of involving the community members in health care through the establishment of health awareness community team “Sehat Umakna Sehat Anakna”. The population of this study includes all the pregnant mothers in Madina district, and 78 of them were selected for this study through purposive sampling technique. The data for this study were obtained through questionnaire distribution and interviews. The result of this study showed that the intervention done had a significant influence on the health status with behaviour, knowledge and attitude (p value < 0.001 comprising knowledge with p = 0.001.) The conclusion is that, intervention has brought an impact in improving the status of public health especially for mothers and their babies through health care. The government and health workers should involve the community members in the implementation of health program and pay attention to the local culture.   Key words: Behavior, knowledge, attitude, culture of community.