P00.4: Fetus and newborn affected by maternal nutritional disorders

While in the womb, the mother suffering a lack of food or nutrients caused damage to health.

The child is supplied with nutrients from the mother's blood via the placenta and umbilical cord. The placenta forms in the mother’s womb during pregnancy. The placenta consists of cells from the mother and cells from the unborn child. The umbilical cord connects the child to the placenta.

There can be various reasons why the mother is deficient in nourishment or certain nutrients. It may be, for example, that she has consumed too little food or too few of certain nutrients. The food or certain nutrients may also have been more poorly absorbed in the body due to some disorder. During pregnancy the mother's body needs more of certain nutrients than usual. This can also lead to a deficiency in certain nutrients.

If there are problems with the supply of nutrients during pregnancy, the child's health can be damaged. The child may then not develop normally in the womb, for example. When it is born, the child may be smaller and lighter than most other children. Depending on which nutrients the mother is deficient in, the child's health may be damaged in other ways.