Not so, says a new study. Murder is the leading cause of death for pregnant women, say researchers from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. As many one in five women whose deaths were related to pregnancy were slain, they say. And, maternal mortality is likely much higher than most states report, the study says.
Most murdered women are killed by a husband or boyfriend, the study finds.
Screening for domestic violence during prenatal care visits or in the hospital after delivery could encourage some threatened women to seek help from shelters, relatives or friends, she says. Dr. Harold E. Fox, director of obstetrics and gynecology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, says the true causes of maternal mortality often get lost in the shuffle and gaps of record keeping. He says broadening surveillance to include more sources of information is vital. What's more, Fox says researchers traditionally have focused on health-related aspects of maternal death. To qualify for the study, a death had to occur either while the woman was pregnant or in the first year after delivery, a wider than normal window.