Prevalence of malaria and prevention practices among pregnant women attending antenatal care at Edo Specialist Hospital, Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract Background Malaria in pregnancy remains a major cause of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa. Facility-level evidence simultaneously assessing malaria prevalence and prevention practices among pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) in Edo State, Nigeria is limited. Objective To determine the prevalence of clinically- or rapid diagnostic test (RDT)-supported suspected malaria and assess malaria prevention practices among pregnant women attending ANC at Edo Specialist Hospital, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 326 pregnant women attending ANC between January and February 2024. Participants were selected by simple random sampling (balloting), with 53 women recruited per clinic day across eight ANC days. Data were collected using a pre-tested, structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire and analysed with IBM SPSS version 20.0. Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were used as appropriate; significance was set at p < 0.05. Results Malaria prevalence (clinically/RDT-supported) was 16.9% (95% CI: 13.1–21.3%). While 76.7% of respondents took malaria medication—of whom 66.9% used sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP)—only 39.3% reported consistent LLIN use, and 94.5% did not seek prompt treatment for fever. Malaria prevalence was significantly associated with marital status, ethnic group, religion, occupation, spouse’s education, spouse’s occupation, parity, trimester, and ANC attendance regularity ( p < 0.05 for each). Conclusion Gaps in consistent LLIN use, IPTp-SP uptake, and prompt care-seeking persist despite moderate malaria prevalence. Strengthening ANC-integrated malaria prevention counselling and IPTp-SP delivery is essential to reducing malaria burden among pregnant women in Edo State.