Baseline assessment and group assignments
parasitemia, Adu‐Afarwuah
MALARIA, PARASITEMIA, MALARIA
We assessed women's baseline characteristics before randomisation. These included sociodemographic and household characteristics by questionnaire; weight (Seca 874), height (Seca 217) and blood haemoglobin concentration (Ghana: HemoCue AG; Malawi: HemoCue AB) by standard procedures; gestational age mainly by ultrasound biometry (Ghana: Aloka SSD 500; Malawi: EDAN DUS 3 Digital Ultrasonic Diagnostic Imaging System; EDAN Instruments Inc.); and malaria parasitemia by a rapid test (Ghana: Vision Biotech; Malawi: Clearview Malaria Combo, British Biocell International Ltd). We calculated a household assets index as a proxy indicator for socioeconomic status, and a household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS) score as a proxy indicator for food insecurity (Adu‐Afarwuah et al., After baseline assessments, pregnant women were randomised to one of three supplementation groups. In Ghana, women were assigned to receive daily: iron and folic acid capsule until childbirth and thereafter placebo (200 mg/day Ca) until the end of follow‐up at 6 months postpartum (IFA supplement or group), or multiple micronutrient capsule throughout follow‐up (MMN supplement or group); or 20 g/day SQ‐LNS throughout follow‐up (SQ‐LNS supplement or LNS group). In Malawi, women were assigned to receive one of the same three supplements as in Ghana until childbirth. After childbirth, only those women enrolled on the ‘complete follow‐up’ scheme (The randomisation techniques in Ghana (Adu‐Afarwuah et al., 