Malaria and anaemia in pregnancy in Enugu, south east Nigeria.

Malaria and anaemia contribute tremendously to maternal and prenatal morbidity and mortality. This study was carried out to document the magnitude of the problem in pregnancy with a view to identifying areas of intervention. The subjects were 108 consecutive pregnant women aged 18 to 44 years recruited from the antenatal clinics. 23 (21.3%) had malaria, 35 (32.4%) had anaemia while 20(18.5%) had both malaria and anaemia. The highest incidence of malaria occurred in the second trimester, while anaemia was most prevalent in the third trimester (62.86%) and among primigravidae (37.14%). All the cases of malaria were due to plasmodium falciparum. Six out of the 20 women with both anemia and malaria were admitted and treated. Two low birth weight babies were delivered among the malaria and anaemia group. The incidence rates of malaria and anaemia were 215 and 327 per 1000 pregnant women respectively while the incidence rate of anaemia due to malaria was 571 per 1000 infected pregnant women. There is a need for a more effective intervention to reduce the incidence of both malaria and anaemia in pregnancy.