Intergenerational cycle of malnutrition
Small women are at greater risk of delivering an infant with low birth weight, contributing to the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition, as infants of low birth weight or retarded intrauterine growth tend be smaller as adults.
A LBW baby is also likely to be exposed to further environmental stressors after birth, trapping him in a cycle of malnutrition that spills over into the next generation.