Background: The Chadian government established a program of free intermittent preventive treatment with
sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) for pregnant women. This program estimated the impact of IPTp-SP on
the malarial prevalence among women and newborn children, a study was planned for pregnant women who
consulted in the Bon samaritain hospital in NDja mena, Chad.
Methods: This 14 month study was conducted on 149 pregnant women. They were followed until delivery for
outcomes such as malaria attacks, anemia and placental malaria, low birth weight and prematurity in newborns.
Data was collected with the help of a pretested questionnaire. Data was analysed with SPSS and R studio, Odds
risk was calculated.
Results: The mean age of the study participants was 25.8 ś 6.2 years with 72.5% under the age of 20 years,
and half were housewives with a secondary school education. More than half of the pregnant women (84,
56.3%) never used insecticide-treated mosquito nets. Among the 149 study participants, (64, 42,95%) received
3 doses of IPTp-SP, while 31( 20.8%) did not receive any dose of IPTp-SP. Only 30% (45) of the total 149
participants reported to be malaria positive; while 28.9% (43) were diagnosed with placental malaria. Of the
43 placenta malaria cases, 21(48.83%) had not received SP. Most of the lower birth weight babies with weight
< 2500g (40,81.64%) were reported in pregnant mothers who have reported administration of one or no dose
of SP. Out of 31 pregnant women, 21 (67.7%) without IPTp-SP had reported at least one attack of malaria
during their pregnancy compared to 22 women out of 118(18.7%) of those who had at least one dose of
Sulfamethoxazole pyrimethamine (p = 0.001 ). Out of 31 pregnant women who have not received IPTp-SP,
26 women (83.9%) reported anaemiaw ith Hb <10.5g/dl while 17 (65.4%) with severeanemia Hb <8g/dl .
Conclusion: The maternal rate of attack of malaria, placenta infestation, maternal anemia,and low birth weight
babies decrease considerably with administration of three or more doses of s ulfadoxine-pyrimethamine.