Maternal undernutrition has been linked with low birth weight and also a number of diseases, including Cardiovascular disease, stroke, hypertension and diabetes. When a foetus is in the womb and is not receiving sufficient nutrition, it can adapt to prioritize organ growth and increased metabolic efficiency to prepare itself for life in an energy deficient environment. Postnatally, when given the correct nutrition, babies exhibit ‘catch up growth’, potentially leading to obesity and other related complications. Studies based around restricting animals food intake throughout gestation have discovered that a reduction of just 30% of normal intake can cause low birth weight and increase sensitivity to high-fat-diet induced obesity.
In animal models, intrauterine undernutrition has been shown to be associated with hypertension later in life. This is because the formation of the kidneys is inhibited, which decreases filtration and flow rate through the nephrons, leading to increased blood pressure.
More extreme prenatal conditions such as famine have been shown to have effects on the neurodevelopment of a foetus. After the Dutch Famine of the winter of 1944–1945, it was found that the risk of schizophrenia was significantly higher in those conceived at the height of the famine, as was the prevalence of schizoid personality.