Pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM) or placental malaria is a presentation of malaria in pregnancy which is life-threatening to both pregnant women and unborn fetuses.[1] PAM occurs when a pregnant woman contracts malaria, generally as a result of Plasmodium falciparum infection, and because she is pregnant, is at greater risk of associated complications such as placental malaria.[1][2][3][4] Placental malaria interferes with the transmission of vital substances through the fetal placenta, which can result in stillbirths, miscarriages, and dangerously low birth weights.[5][6][7]
Prevention and treatment of malaria are essential components of prenatal care in tropical and subtropical geographic areas affected by malaria, and thus has received much international attention.[8][9]
^Perlmann P, Troye-Blomberg M (2000). "Malaria blood-stage infection and its control by the immune system". Folia Biologica. 46 (6): 210–8. PMID11140853.
^Matteelli A, Caligaris S, Castelli F, Carosi G (October 1997). "The placenta and malaria". Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology. 91 (7): 803–10. doi:10.1080/00034989760563. PMID9625937.