Prevalence and Possible Risk Factors of Malaria among Pregnant Women Attending To Antenatal Care at Umtalha Health Centre in Gezira State -Sudan

Malaria in pregnancy is one of the leading causes of maternal and child morbidity and mortality worldwide, mainly in high endemic areas. Our study aimed to estimate the prevalence of and to identify the possible risk factors associated with Malaria infection among pregnant women attending to antenatal care at health center in Umtalha village in Gezira State, Sudan. Methods: A crosssectional facility based study was conducted. A total of 332 pregnant women were selected. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics and possible risk factors. Blood was screened for malaria parasite. Results: 42 (12.7%)) of respondents were found to be Malaria positivity, 97.6% of cases infected with Plasmodium falciparum and 2.4% (1/42) of cases infected with plasmodium vivax. The analysis showed there was relationship between age group, educational level, family income, family size and sleeping under ITNs at night and malaria positivity. P values = (< 0.0001, 0.0001, 0.025, 0.007 and 0.036) respectively. The results indicated there was association between parity, past history and knowledge of malaria and malaria positivity. P values = (0.042, 0.011 and 0.0003) respectively. Conclusion: The study showed the prevalence of malaria among pregnant women was 12.7%. the result showed the P. falciparum malaria is common in pregnant women