Introduction:

Malaria infection during pregnancy is an important health problem in most tropical regions. This condition may have a negative incidence on pregnant women and fetuses.

Objective:

Inquire into the effect of the intermittent preventive treatment with the malarial sulfadoxine / pyrimethamine in pregnant women.

Methods:

A bibliographic review was conducted in the database Medline / PubMed and in relevant papers about the topic published in the last five years. The Guidelines for the Treatment of Malaria 2016-2017 of the World Health Organization were also used as reference.

Analysis and synthesis of results:

Significant progress was not achieved in reducing the number of malaria patients in the period 2015-2017. However, anemia is reported as the cause of mortality during the course of malaria. New approaches and commitments are proposed to reduce malaria-related morbidity among pregnant women, namely effective treatment of malaria cases, use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets, and intermittent preventive treatment with the antimalarial sulfadoxine / pyrimethamine as of the second quarter of pregnancy. Indication of this treatment includes at least two doses of the malarial, with a separation of one month between the doses, regardless of whether the pregnant women have symptoms of the disease.

Conclusions:

The intervention to prevent malaria during pregnancy is a first-priority aspect of the mother, child, reproductive health initiative. It also helps improve and broaden the coverage of measures for the control of this disease during pregnancy.

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