The poor nutritional status of women in developing countries has been associated with maternal mortality. Maternal deaths do not result from malnutrition alone, however, but mainly from a lack of access to obstetric care and from previous conditions that may be aggravated by poor nutrition. For example, maternal deaths caused by obstructed labour are more common in malnourished adolescents and young women with a short stature and small pelvic size; and deaths resulting from haemorrhage during childbirth and the immediate postpartum period may be associated with severe anaemia (Rush 2000). .
