Prevalence of Malaria among Pregnant Women in Nigeria: A Scope Review of Literature

Abstract

Background: Malaria in pregnancy remains a major contributor to maternal and infant morbidity and mortality despite scale up in interventions. Its prevention is one of the major interventions in reducing maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. It is known to cause higher rates of miscarriage, intrauterine death, premature delivery, low birth-weight babies, and neonatal deaths. Since pregnant women are most vulnerable to malaria, implementation of the appropriate prevention and control measures among this group is very important. Therefore, the current review was designed to assess the prevalence of malaria among pregnant women in Nigeria. Method: A systematic analysis of recent literature on the prevalence of malaria in pregnancy was carried out and the evidence synthes ized. The databases used were Google Scholar, MEDLINE and PubMed. Search terms used were "prevalence", "malaria", "pregnant women", and "Nigeria". Studies included were cross sectional studies published in different journals on the prevalence of malaria among pregnant women. The total population from the various studies analyzed was two thousand, eight hundred and sixty-six pregnant women between 15 and 45 years. All the women reside in rural and semi-urban areas in Nigeria. Findings: Among the six studies included in this analysis, the estimated pooled prevalence of malaria among pregnant women in Nigeria was 22% in North-Central, 41% in South-East, 26% in South-South, 4.3% in South-West, 41.6% in North-West and 36.74% in North-East. Conclusion: The current review showed that the pooled prevalence of malaria among pregnant women was relatively higher when compared with the prevalence of malaria in the general population. Therefore, the existing prevention and control measures should be strengthened; interventions on malaria prevention and control should focus on behavior change communication.