Study: Homicide and suicide are leading causes of maternal death in the United States

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A new study presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, highlighted that homicide and suicide are the leading causes of maternal death in the United States. The research also indicated a correlation between firearm legislation and a reduction in maternal deaths.

The study, the most extensive analysis of a national database on maternal deaths, examined CDC data from 2005-2022 on the deaths of pregnant people and individuals within the first 42 postpartum days, ranging in age from 15-44 years.

Researchers found that out of 20,421 maternal deaths over the 18-year period, 11% (2,293) were due to homicide and suicide. Of these deaths, 61% (1,407) were homicides, and 39% (886) were suicides. Firearms were involved in 55% (1,261) of the violent deaths.

“Many people are surprised when they hear that violence is the leading cause of death in pregnancy,” said the study’s lead author, Hooman Azad, MD, MPH, a fourth-year resident in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Azad added, “Right now, the definition of maternal mortality does not include death by homicide. I’m not sure this is correct — being pregnant or postpartum significantly increases the risk of death by homicide, and more pregnant women die of violence than any individual medical cause. Part of the reason violence is not recognized as the leading cause of death during pregnancy is because we don’t include homicide and suicide in the definition of maternal mortality.”

The study also found significant racial disparities, particularly among Black birthing individuals ages 18-24, who experience homicide-related deaths at nearly four times the national average, with a rate of almost 8 deaths per 100,000.

Researchers further examined the impact of firearm legislation on maternal deaths and found a 20% to 30% reduction in firearm-related deaths and homicides in states that had enacted such laws.

“There’s a misconception that most maternal deaths happen in hospitals or healthcare settings, and that’s simply not the case,” said study author Mary D’Alton, MD, a maternal-fetal medicine subspecialist and chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

She concluded, “We need more education about this serious national issue so we can begin to take steps to address it as clinicians as well as at the policy level.”

Reference:

SMFM. New national study finds homicide and suicide is the #1 cause of maternal death in the U.S. Eurekalert. January 30, 2025. Accessed January 30, 2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1071501