Hunger makes poverty intergenerational Hunger makes poverty intergenerational In households facing continuing hunger, babies in mothers' wombs, the newborn and young children do not receive adequate nutrition. This results in inadequate development of physical and mental capacities of the new generation. A physically and mentally weak new generation is doomed to continue being hungry. It will have no chance of escaping from poverty.
Poverty stays because hunger has made it dynastic.
A hungry mother is the first link. What maternal malnutrition can do to a child is devastating. It is a virtual guarantee of low birthweight, stunted growth, susceptibility to disease, and, too often, intellectual impairment. Mothers with small physical stature, who themselves have been victims of hunger and poverty, tend to give birth to small babies. Whatever the reason, the relationship between maternal size and birth-weight is strong and consistent.