Malaria and its burden among pregnant women in parts of the Niger Delta area of Nigeria

ObjectiveTo assess the epidemiology and burden of malaria among pregnant women in parts of the Niger Delta of Nigeria.MethodsAbout 140 pregnant women were selected from four communities for the study after consent was obtained from them and their husbands. Clinical malaria was confirmed using Giemsa staining technique, while social demographic data was obtained using structured pretested questionnaires.ResultsResults showed that 57.1% patients were positive for malaria infection. The peak age specific incidence was 15-20 years (35%) and there was a significant difference among age groups (P<0.05). The incidence of malaria varied significantly according to the trimesters of the pregnant women, locations, level of education and occupation (P<0.05). The burden of the disease among pregnant women in the study area were in forms of symptoms (χ2= 7.67, P<0.05), abnormalities (χ2 = 21.38, P<0.05) and cost of treatment (χ2 =6.62, P<0.005). Pregnant women were mostly predisposed to malaria infection by presence of stagnant water (25.0%) and with farming/fishing activities (22.5%). The most perceived preventive/control measure was intermittent preventive treatment (20.00%) and Antenatal Care/Health education (13.75%).ConclusionsMalaria still exerts heavy public health and socioeconomic burden on pregnant women in the study area. This calls for concerted effort to scale up and sustain control strategies especially intermittent preventive treatment and health education during antenatal visits.