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During her first pregnancy, a woman faces a much higher risk of contracting malaria and of associated complications. Pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM) is a presentation of the common illness that is particularly life threatening to both mother and developing fetus. PAM is caused by infection with plasmodium falciparum (p. falciparum), the most dangerous of the four species of malaria-causing parasites.

While the average adult citizen of an endemic region possesses some immunity to the parasite, pregnancy causes complications that leave the woman and fetus extremely vulnerable. The parasite interferes with transmission of vital substances through the fetal placenta, often resulting in stillbirth, spontaneous abortion, or dangerously low birth weight. The tragedy of malaria in developing countries receives abundant attention from the international health community, but interventions are often primarily focused on children, due to their relative lack of immunity, and thus may not adequately address the issue of pregnancy-associated malaria and its unique risk factors and complications.