And women's ability, at long last, to control their fertility is changing power relations between the sexes. Poor Women, Poor Health Poor women who lack adequate food, basic health care, or modern contraception suffer grave consequences. A woman who is malnourished and in poor health runs much greater risks in sexual contacts and childbearing, and she usually is forced to suffer from illness and complications of pregnancy without proper treatment. Many such women die. In many families, girls and women are last in line for food.
Malnutrition contributes more than any other single factor to disease and injury worldwide.
Anaemia, one consequence of malnutrition, is the third leading cause of disease among women in developing countries, accounting for even more of the disease burden than war. For each death, at least 13 women suffer from other threats to their health. Obstructed labour, haemorrhage, and post-partum infection are the chief threats to the health of poor mothers. Other mothers' growth is stunted by malnutrition. These women suffer hours of terrible pain in labour, and can haemorrhage or become infected.