Homicide One of Leading Causes of Injury-Related Death Among Pregnant Women, New Mothers, CDC Study Says

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 24 Feb 2005 - 14:00 PDT

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Homicide is the second most common cause of injury-related death among pregnant women and new mothers, according to a... CDC study released on Tuesday and published in the March issue of the American Journal of Public Health, the Washington Post reports. In CDC's first national examination of pregnancy and homicide, Jeani Chang, an epidemiologist with the Division of Reproductive Health at CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, and colleagues documented injury-related deaths of pregnant women and women who had recently given birth in 30 states. Between 1991 and 1999, 617 maternal homicides were recorded, and researchers estimate that there are 1.7 maternal homicides per 100,000 live births in the United States. However, researchers say that number is "significantly understate[d]" because many of the 30 states studied do not have reliable methods for keeping track of such deaths, according to the Post. According to the study -- which examined trauma deaths only and did not compare them to maternal deaths due with medical causes -- auto accidents accounted for about 44% of maternal trauma deaths, homicide accounted for 31%, other unintentional injuries accounted for 13% and suicide accounted for 10%.

Other Findings, Recommendations
Black women and women under age 20 were at highest risk of being murdered during or after pregnancy, according to the study. Black women had a maternal homicide risk about seven times that of white women, and black women ages 25 to 29 are about 11 times as likely as white women in that age group to be killed when pregnant or in the year following childbirth. The researchers also found that married women and women who had prenatal care during pregnancy were less likely to be murdered during pregnancy or the year following than unmarried women or women who did not access prenatal care, respectively. The researchers recommended that state and local health officials take "ambitious steps" to more accurately track the number of maternal homicides, including combining information from autopsy records, police reports, and birth and death records to gain a better understanding of the magnitude of the issue and who is affected, according to the Post. The study also said that it is "important but difficult to assess" whether women are generally at an increased risk for homicide during pregnancy and the year following childbirth because homicide is the leading cause of death among black women and young women, regardless of pregnancy.

Reaction
Several health experts "lauded" the CDC study for "recognizing an overlooked phenomenon," the Post reports. "I think it's a very important first step," Jacquelyn Campbell, a domestic homicide researcher at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, said, adding that additional research is needed "to really understand how widespread it is" and determine "how best to intervene to prevent these deaths." Cara Krulewitch, a researcher at the University of Maryland-Baltimore School of Nursing, said the findings are "significant." She added that although most pregnant women are not in danger, "there is a phenomenon going on out there, and we don't understand it yet." However, Isabelle Horon -- co-author of a study on maternal deaths in Maryland, which was published in 2001 in the Journal of the American Medical Association -- said that state studies have found maternal homicide figures to be much higher than the CDC study reported. She added that the CDC study might "call attention to the problem, but I think it also does a disservice to the problem because it suggests the magnitude of the problem is less than what it is" (St. George, Washington Post, 2/23).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.