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PMID: 34619735
Homicide During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period in the United States, 2018–2019:
Homicide is a leading cause of death during pregnancy and the postpartum period in the United States. Pregnancy and the postpartum period are times of elevated risk for homicide among all females of reproductive age. Homicide and other violent causes are, by definition, not counted in estimates of maternal mortality, which fails to capture the totality of preventable death occurring among girls and women who are pregnant or in the postpartum period. Not only does the perinatal period appear to increase likelihood of experiencing violence, but a study on trauma victims in Pennsylvania found that injuries inflicted on pregnant females are more likely to be fatal. The consistency of these findings implicates health and social system failures. Although there have been longstanding recommendations for universal IPV screening during prenatal care visits, implementation has been inadequate at best and stigmatizing at worst. Moreover, lack of universal procedures for responding to positive screens in effective and nonpunitive ways means that opportunities for intervention are missed. A majority of pregnancy-associated homicides occurred in the home, implicating the likelihood of involvement by persons known to the victim. We were able to directly evaluate the role of firearms and found that nearly 7 of 10 incidents involved a firearm. This prevalence surpasses previously reported estimates—likely a reflection of the broader national increase in gun-related homicide occurring over the past decade—and reaffirms firearms as the most common means of perpetrating pregnancy-associated homicide.
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