Fetal programming: maternal nutrition and role of one-carbon metabolism.

India is world's capital for low birth weight (LBW), which is ascribed to intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) rather than prematurity. An average Indian mother is short and thin and gives birth to a light and thin baby. Maternal undernutrition is thought to be a major factor in the aetiology of IUGR, and the undernutrition is usually thought to be a low macronutrient intake.