But like Rowena, other mothers in poor communities usually get pregnant all too soon. This indeed has become a vicious cycle. Malnourished pregnant women give birth to underweight infants. Mothers who are iodine-deficient suffer frequent miscarriages, still births, and early infant deaths. Babies who survive will most likely be born deformed and mentally challenged.
Women are key to guarding children's health and nutrition.
Ill health in women often translates to not being able to properly take care of the children. Illiteracy among women and their lack of access to accurate information heighten this problem. Beginning at ABC Filipinos are literate. This is what many surveys reveal. Majority of the population can read and write a simple message in a language or dialect they use in daily communications.