ABSTRACT
Nutrition of the mother before and during pregnancy has an impact on the growth and development of her child and exposure to maternal infection, and treatment has been associated with pregnancy outcome and child development. Both maternal nutrition and maternal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and its treatment could affect the immune development of the fetus and young infant, and as such set the child on a suboptimal path along the life course. Maternal malnutrition at a population level is a significant public health problem in India while HIV infection is especially prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa. The chapter presents a discussion of these two global regions as case studies to highlight the impact of maternal nutrition and infection, particularly with HIV, on infant development and health. It is clear that the relationships between maternal nutritional status, infection exposure in fetal life, pregnancy outcome, infant nutrition, and development are highly complex.
