(NewsNation) — Higher gun ownership rates increase the firearm homicide rates of pregnant women, a new study found.
Researchers found that pregnant women nationwide experienced a 37% higher firearm homicide rate than nonpregnant women in a study performed between 2018 and 2021. The findings were published Monday in the JAMA Network Open journal.
Homicide is the leading cause of death for pregnant women in the United States.
“This study’s results suggest an urgent need for focused state-level interventions to protect maternal safety,” the authors wrote.
Of the 7,063 homicides committed against women included in the study, 434 occurred in pregnant women. Nearly 79% of those cases included a firearm.
The study focused on women of childbearing age from 15 to 49 years old. Non-Hispanic Black women accounted for the highest proportion of homicides for both pregnant and nonpregnant women, the study found.
Suspected perpetrators were most often male for both pregnant and nonpregnant women