Eighteen articles that examined the extent of homicide among pregnant and/or postpartum women in the United States are reviewed, documenting the studies’ methods and findings. Results from proportional mortality analyses (studies that examined only deaths, rather than deaths within a larger population of living individuals) showed a modicum of support for the contention that homicide may account for a greater proportion of the deaths among pregnant/postpartum women than among other women of reproductive age. However, results from more comprehensive analyses that estimated homicide risks/rates (studies that examined deaths within the context of living populations) did not find any evidence to suggest that pregnant/postpartum women experience a greater risk/rate of homicide compared to other women of reproductive age. This difference in findings is discussed in light of the different methodological approaches.
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2.
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9.
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19.
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20.
Krulewitch, C.J., Roberts, D.W., & Thompson, L.S. (2003). Adolescent pregnancy and homicide: Findings from the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, 1994-1998. Child Maltreatment, 8, 122-128.
21.
Martin, S.L., Mackie, L., Kupper, L.L., Buescher, P.A., & Moracco, K.E. ( 2001). Physical abuse of women before, during, and after pregnancy . Journal of the American Medical Association, 285, 1581-1584.
22.
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23.
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