Abstract: The impact of unanticipated shocks on health in very early life and their implications for health in later life is of substantial interest to health and population scientists. Existing work in economics and demography suggests that birth outcomes are worse for children whose mothers are exposed to hardships (stress, nutrition restrictions) during pregnancy, but it is less clear whether these exposures affect physical health after birth. Using extremely rich longitudinal survey data collected in Indonesia before and after the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and subsequent tsunami, this study investigates the impact of exposure to a large-scale natural disaster on the linear growth of young children.