Winifred Bosa.

Booking late for Antenatal Care Clinics ANC has been linked to a higher risk of malaria in pregnancy .

And malaria in pregnancy not only causes miscarriages , maternal anaemia, premature births and low birthweights in newborn babies.  , but also is responsible for 11% of maternal deaths in pregnancy.

Health experts ,  disclosed this in a recent media chat on “Malaria In Pregnancy”  organized by the National Media Elimination Programme (NMEP) in collaboration with Health Writers Association of Nigeria (HEWAN) at the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) in Lagos.

The health experts drawn from World Health Organisation (WHO) , NMEP and NIMR gave  detailed presentations on management and effective control of malaria during pregnancy.

They affirmed that early commencement of antenatal care by pregnant women which aids early diagnosis and prompt treatment of malaria in pregnant women as well as uptake of Intermittent Preventive Treatment in Pregnancy (IPTp), regular and appropriate use of Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) help to prevent malaria in pregnant women .

Speaking at the media parley , Mrs Itohowo Uko, the Head of Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilisation in NMEP, disclosed that malaria can occur with or without symptoms and if not treated promptly , can become complicated especially in pregnant women and children under five years.

She explained that malaria parasites can hide in the placenta and interfere with the transfer of oxygen and nutrients to the baby therefore she urged women to report for ANC immediately they realised they are pregnant.

On the uptake of IPTp , Mrs Uko said that the 2015 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey (NMIS) revealed that 37% of pregnant wome take 2 doses of SP Sulphadoxine Pyrimethamine , (a recommended medicine for malaria prevention for pregnant women in Nigeria) at least once during an ANC visit , adding that this is significantly low.

Hence , she charged women to exercise their right of demanding for at least for 3  doses of SP during the period of pregnancy as recommended for them clarifying that each dose should be taken one month apart .

Also shedding more light on IPTp , Dr Tolu Arowolo of the WHO said , “IPTp is based on the assumption that every pregnant woman living in an area of high malaria transmission has malaria in her blood stream or placenta, whether or not she has symptoms of malaria.”

She observed that IPT of malaria in pregnancy with SP remains a key intervention but decried that there are still missed opportunities as lesser women who registered for ANC are reported to having had at least 2 dosed of SP .

Hoping that the country would attain the MNSP target of 100% of pregnant women attending ANC to receive at least 3 doses of SP- IPT by 2020 , Dr Tolu said that there is a need  for identifying key bottlenecks in the delivery and uptake of IPTp .

Also giving insight on LLINs , the health experts emphasised that chemicals used in making LLINs are safe to use and not harmful to human beings.

And they are worried that despite the effectiveness of LLINs in preventing malaria and widespread accessibility to it , there are many cases of low and incorrect usage of LLINs in Nigeria , thereby reducing its ability to protect pregnant women against malaria.

Hence , they advised all pregnant women to sleep inside LLIN every night.