Homicide is a leading cause of death in pregnant women

THIS is not about an episode of "Blue Bloods" or "CSI Las Vegas," but in the US, homicide turns out to be a leading cause of death in women who are pregnant or in their postpartum period. "Homicide during pregnancy or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy exceeded all the leading causes [such as bleeding or placental disorders] of maternal mortality by more than twofold," according to research conducted by Maeve Wallace and colleagues and published in Obstetrics and Gynecology (October 2021).

A New York Times article, "What we see in the shameful trends on US maternal health," published on Nov. 17, 2021, reported that the United States "has one of the highest [maternal] mortality rates in the developed world." Authors Sema Sgaier and Jordan Downey point out that maternal mortality has increased almost 60 percent over the past two decades. It was 17.4 percent in 2018, compared to other developed countries' single digit rates.