Chronically malnourished women are often unable to breastfeed, so both they and the children suffer. As food producers and providers, these women are at a double disadvantage. Attitude and custom as much as the lack of nutritious food work against adequate diets. More must be done to educate families and communities in good nutritional practices and how to make the best use of the food available. In particular, more could be done to avoid practices which deprive women and their children of good sources of nutrition when they most need it, for example during pregnancy or lactation.
Adequate nutrition is essential to reproductive health.
Many difficulties and dangers could easily be avoided, if women knew how and if husbands and communities would support them. The most obvious step is to equip women with the information and the means to time pregnancy as and when they wish. Good reproductive health promotes good nutrition. As countries struggle to feed increasing numbers of people, planners and policy-makers must acknowledge both women's vital role as food producers and their contributions to the health and nutritional status of their families and communities. Development programmes should encourage the coordination of population and agricultural policies.