Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Over one billion people are infected with intestinal worms in developing countries. These infections can lead to poor health and nutrition. During pregnancy, worm infections can be even more serious, affecting the health of both the mother and of the newborn child. The administration of drugs to treat the infection (i.e. deworming) before pregnancy, or in the second or third trimesters of pregnancy, is recommended to all women living in areas where worm infections are common. However, most countries around the world do not regularly provide this treatment. Evidence on the safety and benefits of these types of programs is needed to increase coverage. This study aims to determine the effect of a deworming program provided to women of reproductive age who are not yet pregnant, in terms of greatest health benefits to the mother and child at the time of delivery. This study will be conducted in Yen Bai province in Vietnam. A deworming program in non-pregnant women 16 to 45 years of age has been running since 2006 in two districts. Information will be collected from hospital records on subsequent births of women in these districts. This information includes characteristics of the mother (e.g. anemia, pregnancy complications) and the child (e.g. birth weight, birth defects). To see if there is a benefit of the deworming program, a comparison will be made with pregnancy and birth records from two districts that do not run the program. Information on approximately 10,000 births over ten years will be collected. Improving the health of mothers and children in developing countries is a research priority. The proposed study will provide new information on deworming prior to pregnancy, and whether it can help to ensure healthy pregnancies and deliveries. This information will be valuable to the over 100 low-resource countries in which worm infections are common and where deworming programs should be established.