One measure of rural poverty is the poor have very limited access to nutrition and rural healthcare in India.
Poor health is nearly a given for children born into poor homes, starting with their mothers. Pregnant women face challenges ranging from ignorance, low reproductive age, inadequate medical access, to gender bias which gives no importance to the well-being of women.
Mothers who are not getting nourishing food during pregnancy, including an iron-rich diet, suffer, often resulting in premature births, underweight babies and even infant and maternal mortality.
Those who do deliver live babies and survive childbirth face other challenges in raising these children. Infants born to women who are suffering from nutritional deficiencies have lower immunity and are more susceptible to disease.