Abstract:
Objective: To appraise the prevalence of malaria and anaemia in antenatal mothers; and explore the factors influencing coverage of intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) under operational conditions in the national programme for malaria control in pregnancy.
Design: Descriptive cross-sectional survey.
Setting: The reproductive and child health clinic in Kibaha district hospital, Tanzania
Subjects: Pregnant mothers on routine antenatal visits
Main outcome measures: Prevalence of malaria (peripheral parasitaemia) and anaemia, coverage of IPT with SP and the factors influencing coverage.
Results: A total of 395 mothers were recruited; 27.3% had malaria. Moderate anaemia i.e. haemoglobin (Hb) level 8.0 - 10.9 g/dl was detected in 56.7% of mothers; 34.2% had severe anaemia (Hb < 8.0 g/dl). Hb > 8.0 g/dl was strongly associated with negative parasitaemia while Hb < 8.0 g/dl was strongly associated with positive parasitaemia. About a third (40.0%) of the mothers did not receive SP for IPT because of unavailability. Of those receiving, about a third (40.0%) did not swallow the tablets at the clinic because of empty stomach and sharing of water cups. Majority (90.1%) were aware that SP was the drug for IPT and 77.2% held the perception that IPT with SP has health benefits; however, 70.0% were not aware on the timing for IPT.
Conclusion: Severe malarial anaemia is still a health problem in pregnancy, conceivably due to low coverage of IPT with SP because of erratic availability of SP. There is a major gap on appropriate timing for IPT with SP that should be corrected.
