Author

Mahama Saaka

Date of Award

1-1-2007

Document Type

Thesis - ECU Access Only

Publisher

Edith Cowan University

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Faculty

Faculty of Computing, Health and Science

Abstract

Anaemia and malaria are two related problems of public health significance in malaria endemic countries including Ghana that continue to impact negatively on pregnancy outcomes, despite interventions being put in place to address them. The reasons for the apparent lack of efficacy of routine iron supplementation in reducing the risks of preterm and other adverse pregnancy outcomes are not clearly established in Ghana. It is not also known whether all pregnant women benefit from iron supplementation and whether there are some other factors that limit the effectiveness of prenatal iron supplementation. This study tested the primary hypothesis that prenatal zinc supplementation in combination with malaria prophylaxis and an iron and folic acid intervention package in a zinc-deficient and malaria-edemic population will increase mean birth weight.

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