This study evaluated the effect of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) use in intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) on birth weights of neonates in a stable malaria transmission area of Ghana, Offinso District. Routine delivery data from six health facilities over the period January 2005 to October 2007 were reviewed. In-depth interviews were conducted for health staff of these facilities to assess the effect of SP use in IPTp in pregnancy. SP-IPTp improved the birth weight of neonates and the effects of age, parity, term of pregnancy and sex of neonate also had significant influence on the birth weight (P < 0.0001). The variation in birth weight of the neonates, however, did not show significant difference (OR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.8-1.1, P ≥0.26) over the period and seasonal variations had no effect on birth weight (OR = 0.84, 95% CI 0.7-1.1, P ≥0.18). Health personnel attested to the fact that SP-IPTp had reduced the burden of malaria cases in pregnancy and improved birth weight of neonates. This study, thus, shows that successful implementation of the SP-IPTp strategy will improve the birth weight of neonates, and consequently reduce neonatal mortality.
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Tutu et al. (2011) studied this question.
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