Prevalence and associated risk factors of malaria in pregnant women attending antenatal care at Abarilela Health Center III in Amuria, North Eastern Uganda

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of malaria in pregnant women attending antenatal care at Abarilela Health Center III in Amuria District in Uganda. Prevalence of malaria during pregnancy has been a subject of curiosity due to its potential negative effects towards the baby and the mother. Prevalence of malaria in pregnant women has always been neglected in the weekly malaria reports of the Uganda Malaria Facts and the results of this study will help promote Maternal-child health. Capillary blood of 126 pregnant women were tested using malaria RDT and confirmed by microscopy. The results were entered and analyzed using Microsoft Excel version 2013 and SPSS version 20. A prevalence of 47.629% was registered. Out of the seven potential risk factors of malaria in pregnant women (after 10pm sleep, stagnant water, net usage, compound bushes, empty cans, education level, and age bracket), only late night sleep with OR 16.690 (95%CI 4.817- 80.485) and low or no education OR 11.079 (95%CI 4.345-28.280) were risk factors while net usage had a protective advantage against malaria OR 0.038 (95%CI 0.007- 0.194) at multivariate analysis using bipartite regression. It was imperative for pregnant women to sleep early before 10pm, get educated and use insecticide treated mosquito nets to prevent malaria.