Prevalence of placental malaria among asymptomatic pregnant women in Wolkite health center, Gurage zone, Southern Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Placental malaria (PM) is a major public health problem associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as low birth weight (LBW), preterm delivery and maternal anemia. The present study is aimed to determine the prevalence of placental malaria among asymptomatic pregnant women in Wolkite health center, Gurage zone, Southern Ethiopia. METHOD: Facility-based cross-sectional study was carried out from June 2019 to August 2019. A total of 230 pregnant women were involved in the study where socio-demographic data, medical and obstetric history were collected using pretested structured questionnaires. Blood samples were collected at delivery from maternal capillary, placenta and umbilical cord for the detection of malarial parasite. Maternal hematocrit was determined to screen for anemia. RESULT: In this study, the prevalence of placental malaria, peripheral malaria and umbilical cord malaria was 3.9% (9/230), 15.2% (35/230) and 2.6% (6/230) respectively. Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax were detected by microscopy. All babies with positive umbilical cord blood films were born from a mother with placental malaria. Maternal anemia was recorded in 58.3% of the women. In univariate analysis, placental malaria was significantly associated with LBW (p < 0.001) unlike parity and maternal anemia. CONCLUSION: Placental malaria among asymptomatic pregnant women is low in Wolkite health centre, Gurage zone in Southern Ethiopia. Moreover, placental malaria was strongly associated with LBW. Thus, further strengthening the existing prevention and control activities and screening of asymptomatic pregnant women as part of routine antenatal care service is very essential.