Post-natal infections not only occur more frequently in children stunted in utero but also promote stunting post-natally in young children, particularly in low- and middle-income settings where a high prevalence of infectious illnesses combines with poor sanitation to facilitate fecal- oral transmission of diarrheal and parasitic illnesses (Grantham-McGregor et al 1999b). Such settings promote repeated infections that may prevent a child from completely restoring weight lost during illnesses, thereby resulting in a drop in the growth trajectory over the long term (Martorell et al 1975; Rowland and McCollum, 1977). Both short-term and chronic infections may result in micronutrient deficiencies.
