1Department of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Institut Clinic de Ginecologia, Obstetricia i Neonatologia, Institut d'Investigacions Biomediques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
2Barcelona Center for International Health Research (CRESIB), Institut d'Investigacions Biomediques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
3Neonatal Unit, Institut Clinic de Ginecologia, Obstetricia i Neonatologia, Hospital Clinic, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
4Department of Pediatrics, S.N. Medical College, Agra, India
5Neonatal Unit, Institut Clinic de Ginecologia, Obstetricia i Neonatologia, Hospital Clinic, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
6Professor of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, and Director of the Perinatal Center at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
7Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
8King's College London School of Medicine Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Center supported by WellChild 4th Floor Golden Jubilee Wing, King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, UK
9E. Stewart Taylor Professor and Chairman, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, USA
10Service de Gynécologie Obstétrique, Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Poissy-St Germain, Poissy, France
Abstract
Pregnant women are at increased risk for malaria infection. Although important advances have been made in the last years, the mechanisms that explain the increased susceptibility are not yet fully understood. Malaria infection in pregnancy is associated with maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. The severity of the disease depends on the level of pre-pregnancy acquired immunity against malaria, and the consequences of infection are more severe in non-immune women. In highly endemic areas, the frequency and severity of the infection is higher in primigravida and decreases with increasing parity. In non-immune women, the risk is similar across the parity and malaria may be an important direct cause of maternal mortality. Malaria infection during pregnancy has important negative effects on infant's health, causing intrauterine growth retardation and prematurity or directly through congenital infection. In this paper, we review the pathology, diagnosis, and current recommendations for treatment and prevention of malaria in the pregnant woman and her infant.
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