Maternal anemia and underweight as determinants of pregnancy outcomes: cohort study in eastern rural Maharashtra, India
Background
Malnutrition is a serious underlying cause for child and maternal deaths around the globe. Undernutrition during pregnancy restricts fetal growth, contributing to about 800000 neonatal and 400000 infant deaths, and 20% of stunting in the first 2 years of the child’s life, as well as 20% of maternal deaths at delivery. The Sustainable Development Goals bring explicit attention to nutrition, including the World Health Assembly target to reduce anaemia in women of ages 15–49 years by 50% by 2025. Since India has largest number of neonatal, infant and under age 5 children deaths in the world as well as high rates of stunting and growth faltering, it is particularly timely to understand maternal nutritional status as a risk factor for maternal and childhood adverse outcomes of pregnancy in the Indian population.
By: Patel A, Prakash AA, Das PK, Gupta S, Pusdekar Y and Hibberd P.