American women are more likely to be murdered during pregnancy or soon after child birth than the three leading obstetric causes of maternal death: hypertensive disorders, hemorrhage and sepsis, researchers have determined.
And a new study found that those deaths increase with firearm ownership, adding to existing research on the killing of pregnant and post-partum women.
The study, published in JAMA Network Open, found that from 2018 to 2021, pregnant women experienced a 37% higher firearm homicide rate than nonpregnant women.
“Homicide remains the leading cause of maternal mortality in the U.S.,” researchers wrote. “With more than three-quarters of these deaths caused by firearms, firearm homicide must be considered a maternal health crisis. Our findings demonstrate that pregnant women are at increased risk for firearm homicide compared with their nonpregnant peers.”
The twin public health crises of gun violence and maternal mortality are not robustly covered enough. You should focus your reporting on maternal homicides as you would when covering any other fatal medical conditions impacting pregnant people.
(Check out our tip sheet on how to cover gun violence and maternal mortality.)
What the study found
Researchers used the CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System and included 7,063 women of childbearing age (15-49 years) who were shot and killed in 37 states from Jan. 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2021. The women were categorized as pregnant — including within the last 12 months — versus nonpregnant.
Most of the victims included in the study were Black women (46.4%), researchers learned. Pregnant women ages 20 to 24 made up the highest proportion of the homicides included in the study.
Researchers also found large geographic disparities in their study. Though several states had zero homicides in pregnant women during the study’s time period, others had more than 100 deaths of pregnant women per 1 million live births. Southern states saw the highest rates, including Louisiana, North and South Carolina, West Virginia and Georgia.
“This variation raises important questions about why the risk of homicide during pregnancy differs so substantially based on place of residence,” the study’s authors wrote. “The observed geographic disparities likely reflect differences in state-level firearm-related legislation as well as policies regarding access to comprehensive reproductive health care.”
Why is this happening?
Researchers outline several potential drivers of maternal homicides.
They point to the role gun policy plays in the risk for firearm homicides. For example, states with stricter gun laws have fewer overall firearm deaths.
And policies that reduce access to firearms, like safe storage laws or domestic violence firearm prohibitions, “may play an essential role in the protection of pregnant women,” researchers wrote. “Specifically, firearm legislation, which includes domestic violence-related relinquishment laws, is associated with a reduction in pregnancy-associated homicides.”
They also suggest that comprehensive reproductive care is another option for preventing homicides.
Researchers point to a study that found higher rates of intimate partner-related female homicide, and specifically peripartum homicide, in states with more restrictive abortion laws.
“Given the unique risks for this population,” researchers wrote, “health care professionals involved in prenatal, emergency, and postpartum care should also integrate firearm safety as part of intimate partner violence screening during medical care.”
Resources
- A new reporting guide, called “Better Gun Violence Reporting: A Toolkit for Minimizing Harm,” offers several useful tips for covering domestic violence.
- The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence has a reporting guide, as does the National Network to End Domestic Violence.
- Victim advocacy organizations and domestic violence shelters. In most cities and states, there are victim advocacy groups for victims of intimate partner violence. These organizations are great resources for understanding what victims face and what resources are available. Shelters are also good sources and will often remain in touch with survivors.
- The Violence Policy Center releases an annual report called “When Men Murder Women” that analyzes violent crime data by state.
