Pregnancy increases the chance of having malaria and of having the severe forms of malaria. Even when a pregnant woman is not sick (not having symptoms), malaria infection can harm the baby and the mother. What malaria can cause include;

1. Maternal anemia ie reduction of the blood level in the mother
2. Preterm delivery: giving birth before the baby is mature
3. Poor growth of the baby; the baby may have a low birth weight
4. It can cause death of a baby in the womb

What the woman may notice

Some cases show no symptoms, but a woman with malaria may notice

1. Fever; often associated with chills
2. Headache
3. Body pain
4. Body weakness
5. Vomiting with or without diarrhea and abdominal pain
6. Other symptoms may include cough, passage of dark urine

What you can do

1. Visit your doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment. Not all antimalarial drugs are safe in pregnancy, so do not do self-medication. Ensure you use the drugs as prescribed; complete the dose even if you get better early.
2. Use long lasting insecticide treated nets
3. Use of intermittent preventive treatment (IPT), recommended by the WHO in the second and the third trimester for all pregnant women. IPT involves use of sulphadoxine –pyrimethamine e.g. fansidar at each antenatal visit, the last dose should be used before your pregnancy is 36 weeks old.
4. Use of pyrithemamine e.g. daraprim weekly; this is gradually being abandoned because of resistance to the drug.