According to a new study led by scientists at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, pregnant women are significantly more likely to die from gun violence than nonpregnant women – especially in states with high levels of firearm ownership.
Using data from the National Violent Death Reporting System regarding 7,000 women who died by homicide between 2018 and 2021, the authors found that firearms accounted for 78.6 percent of all homicides of pregnant women, translating to a 37 percent higher risk of dying from firearms compared to women who are not pregnant. Black women were found to be significantly more likely to be victims of homicide, representing a staggering 57.6 percent of all pregnant women who died by gun violence during the study period. Among different age groups, pregnant women aged 20 to 24 have the highest risk of experiencing firearm homicide.
Notably, the authors found homicide rates among pregnant women varied significantly by location. For every 1 percent increase in state-level firearm ownership, there was a 6 percent increase in homicides overall and an 8 percent increase in firearm-specific homicides of pregnant women. Louisiana had the highest rate of firearm pregnancy homicides, at a rate of 111.43 deaths per 1 million live births. Conversely, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont all reported no firearm homicides among pregnant women during the study period.
“These deaths are not random,” write the study authors. “They are predictable and therefore preventable. Preventing homicide during pregnancy will require urgent and coordinated actions from policymakers, public health advocates, and health care systems to address this leading cause of death in pregnant women.”