This dataset was collected as part of a cluster randomised controlled trial of a community intervention to improve the growth of children under two years of age in Jharkhand and Odisha, eastern India. It contains data for over 5000 mothers interviewed in pregnancy and 3000 of their children followed up within 72 hours of birth and then at 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 months of age between 2013 and 2016. The trial was registered as ISCRTN (51505201) and with the Clinical Trials Registry of India (number 2014/06/004664). Its results and further details are available at https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(17)30339-X The files contain a STATA dataset with no personal identifiers, the STATA do file used for the trial analyses, and the questionnaire with variable names.