Homicide is leading cause of pregnant women dying, Black girls under 25 at higher risk
Women who have recently given birth and those who are with a child have the highest chances of being murdered rather than dying of any other illness or pregnancy-related complications, a new study has revealed.
The study, conducted by researchers from Tulane University, revealed that there were almost 3.26 homicides for every 100,000 women between the year 2018 and 2019. Primarily, these women were either pregnant or are post-partum mums. This study also said that pregnant women are 16% more likely to be murdered than the average woman. Similarly, chances of a homicide being higher within the previous month and half had reportedly exceeded all leading causes of maternal mortality like anaemia, obstructed labour, complicated abortions, etc.
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Black women reportedly fall in the 'highest risk of homicide' category, compared to other races. Experts arrived at this conclusion after compiling statistics after analyzing death certificates. The disturbing results revealed that Black women, girls and women in general, who are younger than 25 years, were at the greatest risk of homicide due to a pregnancy.
The researchers gathered data from the National Center for Health Statistics for the years 2018 and 2019. From this data, they revealed that over two-thirds of pregnancy-related homicides occured at home. Other researches in related case studies have also come to the same conclusion — pregnant women face a higher risk of violence.
Death certificate data spurred research
The study and research into pregnancy-related homicides was a result of the addition of a new checkbox on death certificates. In 2003, the National Center for Health Statistics started a new practice. Under this practice, they revised the process of issuing death certificates, whereby the certificate would require to state if the deceased person had been pregnant. If yes, if they were in the post-partum period or hadn't given birth before death. If post-partum, was the period after birth less than 42 days or less than a year. After this strenuous data collection from death certificates, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention released the updated report of national mortality rates for the first time after 2007.
Maeve Wallace is an assistant professor at Tulane University. She, along with her colleagues, decided to use this data published by the National Center for Health Statistics for a different purpose. She knew they had to be quick and effective as maternal mortality was supremely concerning issue at that time. She also pointed out that there are other such deaths happening and those aren't necessarily being counted if no death certificate is issued.
At the University of Indianapolis, Aaron Kivisto, a clinical psychologist also used this data for his research. His findings revealed that Wallace's conclusion may not be nationally representative. However, both the conclusions lead to one common finding — that the National Centre for Health Statistics does not provide enough accurate and detailed information.