Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Community-based Scheduled Screening and Treatment of Malaria in Pregnancy for Improved Maternal and Infant Health: a Cluster-randomized Trial in The Gambia, Burkina Faso and Benin
Brief Summary: Malaria is a common disease in Africa and a major health problem. Pregnant women are also at risk of malaria. Malaria in pregnancy is life threatening to both the mother and the baby she is carrying. It can result in the destruction of the mother's blood and in babies with a lower birth weight than normal, making them less healthy in their first years of life. These risks are even higher in women having their first pregnancy.

When a woman is pregnant she should go to the Antenatal clinic (ANC) for care. Usually the ANC health staff gives the woman intermittent preventable treatment (IPTp-SP) against malaria. This drug helps protect the woman against getting malaria. Each pregnant woman should receive at least 2 doses of this drug during their pregnancy; thus, they should go the ANC at least 2 times during their pregnancy. However, many women still do not go often to the ANC for health care during their pregnancy.

This study would like to see whether community health workers (CHW) can work with pregnant women to encourage them to attend ANC more often. Also, the CHW will test a pregnant woman every month for malaria with a rapid test. If a woman has malaria, the CHW will treat her in her home instead of the woman having to go a health clinic for treatment. The woman will be treated with a different drug than the drug that is given at the ANC visits. Our hypothesis is that this will improve the care and management of malaria during pregnancy and this will improve the health of women and their newborns. To see whether this strategy improved the health of women and their newborns, we will take a small piece of the placenta at delivery to test for malaria and we will weigh the baby. We will test this strategy in multiple communities. We will compare this to pregnant women in communities where this strategy was not followed, thus where pregnant women received standard care.

Participants will be pregnant women. There are no direct benefits for participating in the study, except the outcome of our research question that is possible health benefits in the intervention group. The drugs involved are tested safe in pregnant women from second trimester on.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

* Residence in the study area and intention to stay in the area for the duration of the pregnancy and for delivery.
* Aged at least 16 years (pregnant adolescents younger than 16 years will be considered only if they are accompanied by a responsible adult (in the Gambia) or married (considered an adult by marriage in Burkina Faso and Benin.)
* Willing to provide biological samples as and when required during the study period (blood and placental biopsy)
* Informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

* A history of sensitivity to sulphonamides.
* Already participating in another research study
B: Inclusion Criteria:

* Expectant women and their newborns in the study area

Exclusion Criteria:

* Pregnant women not belonging to the study area
C: Inclusion Criteria:

* pregnant women (any age)
* newborns

Exclusion Criteria:

* children (outside newborn period)
D: Inclusion Criteria:

* All births

Exclusion Criteria:

* None

Answer: A