Does malaria during pregnancy affect the newborn?
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect of malarial infection during pregnancy on the newborn.


METHODS
A retrospective cohort study was conducted at The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi, using in-patient hospital records over an 11-year period from 1988 to 1999. The incidence of preterm delivery, low birth weight (LBW) and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) in 29 pregnant women with malaria, was compared with that in 66 selected pregnant women without malaria, who delivered at the AKUH during the same time period.


RESULTS
Pregnant women with malaria had a 3.1 times greater risk of preterm labor (p=0.14). They were more likely to be anaemic compared to women without malaria (RR=2.9, 95% CI=1.6-5.4) and had a significantly lower mean haemoglobin level (p=0.0001). Maternal malaria was significantly associated with LBW babies (p=0.001). The mean birth weight of infants born to pregnant women with malaria was 461 g less (p=0.0005). No significant association was, however, found between malarial infection during pregnancy and IUGR (p=0.33).


CONCLUSIONS
Malarial infection during pregnancy is associated with poor maternal and fetal outcome. It is significantly associated with maternal anaemia and LBW infants. Appropriate measures must, therefore, be taken to prevent malaria during pregnancy, especially in endemic areas.
Yakoob
Mohammad Yawar
MY
Department of Community Health Sciences, The Aga Khan University, Karachi.
Zakaria
Asma
A
Waqar
Saima Naheed
SN
Zafar
Samiah
S
Wahla
Ali Saeed
AS
Zaidi
Sarah Kulsoom
SK
Sarwari
Arif R
AR
Qureshi
Rahat N
RN
Siddiqui
Amna Rehana
AR
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008288:Malaria / Q000150:complications* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000503:physiopathology; D010154:Pakistan; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires