In a pregnant women, who are not Iron deficient it is better not to supplement Iron in order that the Zinc can be absorbed beneficially. Oxidative potential of iron is well known. Hence routine administration of iron to all pregnant women unless they are anaemic is not indicated. Protein deprivation is one of the most important causes of stunted linear growth in India. One another important reason for small weight babies in India is the short-term gestation.
Indian babies are the smallest in the world.
The average weight being 2500gms. Apart from nutrition, hostile environment to mother also play a great role. Optimal environments have beneficial effects on the brain and body development of the fetus and hostile environments are the cause of the stress, which affects the growth with deleterious effects. These depress growth hormone, thyroid hormone, reproductive hormones and immune functions .