Knowledge and attitude of women towards malaria during pregnancy in central Sudan

ABSTRACT

Malaria infection during pregnancy has important adverse effects on both mother and fetus and it is the leading cause of maternal mortality in Sudan. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and attitude of 579 pregnant Sudanese women attending the antenatal clinic of Omdurman Maternity Hospital, towards malaria. The age of the interviewed women ranged between 15-45 years with a mean of 27.1 years, 85.8% of them were housewives and 34.0% were primigravidae. There was high knowledge about cause, and symptoms of malaria among pregnant women. The pregnant women had little knowledge about the complications of malaria during pregnancy, the effect of malaria treatment on the fetus and malaria prevention methods. Parts of socio-demographic [parity and education] profiles were found to play an important role in determining this knowledge