Bringing Pregnancy-Associated Homicide Out of the Shadows

Pregnancy-associated homicide is an important — but obscure — aspect of violence against women. To determine whether pregnant or postpartum women are at excess risk for homicide, investigators reviewed all death records in Illinois between 2002 and 2011 for women who were pregnant or within 1 year of pregnancy.

Of 636 deaths in pregnant or postpartum women, 82 (13%) were a result of homicide. The homicide rate was highest among 10- to 29-year-old black women (17.4 per 10,000 live births, versus 4.6 in Hispanic women and 3.0 in non-Hispanic white women of the same age). Rates were lower among 30- to 49-year-old women, with persistent disparities by race. Adjusted for race, risk for homicide was >2-fold higher among 10- to 29-year-old pregnant…