[The importance of nutrition in maternal health and economy in nutrition].

Iron requirement of women in child bearing age are higher than normal level. During pregnancy and lactation women also need extra food to meet the increasing iron and other nutrient requirements. When women can not meet these requirements, they use their own tissues. This in turn cause deteriation of mother and child health. In our country, one third of mothers have various health problems and half of them are anemic. The principal factors for nutritional and health problems are poverty, lack of nutritional knowledge, frequent pregnancy and child birth. Effective and continuing nutrition education, beside supplementary food aid for poor mothers will help to improve nutritional and health status of mothers and children.