Malaria and Associated Risk Factors among Pregnant Women attending Antenatal Care in Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria

Abstract

Malaria in pregnancy is a major public health problem in endemic areas of sub-Saharan Africa. It is a major contributor to adverse maternal and perinatal outcome.  This work was carried out to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of malaria among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Awka. Microscopy was used to determine the prevalence of malaria among the pregnant women, while structure questionnaire was used to determine the knowledge and use of IPTp and LLINs among thepregnant women. Out of the 300 pregnant women screened for malaria, 184 (61.3%) were positive for malaria parasite.of 184 positive for malaria, 130(47.1%) had mild malaria, 49(27.0%) moderate infection, while 5(2.7%) had severe malaria. Of the 184 pregnant women positive for malaria parasite, those less than 20 years (70.0%) were more infected with malaria parasite, followed by 21-30 years (65.4%), while 41 years and above (20.0%) years were the least infected. Those in their first trimester had the highest prevalence of malaria (76.2%). Primigravidae (64.5%) were more infected than multigravidae (56.1%) Pregnant women with non formal education were most infected (95.0%), followed by primary education (27.3%), while secondary education showed the lowest rate of malaria in pregnancy (92.9%). Farmers reported the highest cases(86.3%) of malaria in pregnancy, while civil servants reported the least (27.3%). Married women showed the highest cases of malaria in pregnancy (65.1%), while single reported the least (51.0%).the knowledge and compliance of IPTp among the pregnant women studied were 84.7% and 52.7% respectively, while knowledge of LLINs was 51.7%. intensified health education is needed to reducethe burden of malaria among pregnant womenin Awka.