Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of pregnant women in southern Malawi providing blood, urine, and stool samples
| Characteristic | Participants providing blood and urine samples (N = 1,772) | Subset also providing stool (N = 848) |
|---|---|---|
| Maternal age in years (mean ± SD) | 20.0 ± 2.8 | 20.1 ± 2.9 |
| Gestational age in weeks (mean ± SD) | 22.2 ± 3.6 | 22.1 ± 3.5 |
| Maternal weight in kilograms (mean ± SD) | 53.5 ± 6.8 | 53.4 ± 6.7 |
| Maternal MUAC* in centimeters (mean ± SD) | 25.4 ± 2.0 | 25.4 ± 2.1 |
| Primigravida (%) | 51.6 | 48.6 |
| Ethnicity | ||
| Yao (%) | 46.3 | 44.7 |
| Lomwe (%) | 21.7 | 25.0 |
| Chewa (%) | 12.2 | 11.4 |
| Other (%) | 19.8 | 18.9 |
| Secondary education or greater (%) | 22.7 | 22.9 |
| Housing characteristics | ||
| Earth/sand/dung floor (%) | 84.2 | 85.8 |
| Borehole for drinking water (%) | 59.5 | 59.2 |
| Pit latrine (%) | 92.9 | 92.0 |
| Property ownership | ||
| Own a bicycle (%) | 44.0 | 41.9 |
| Own land (%) | 14.6 | 16.3 |
| Occasional exposure to lakes/rivers (%) | 60.2 | 63.5 |
| Married (%) | 91.1 | 89.6 |
| Slept under an ITN† the previous night (%) | 11.9 | 10.7 |
| Other pre-existing medical conditions‡ (%) | 2.6 | 4.1 |
| HIV positive (%) | 14.2 | 14.6 |
*
MUAC = mid-upper arm circumference.
†
ITN = insecticide-treated bed net.
‡
Includes hypertension, diabetes, tuberculosis, asthma, epilepsy, sickle cell disease, and psychiatric disorders.