For a study, researchers sought to assess the national prevalence of pregnancy-related mortality due to drugs, suicide, and homicide from 2010 to 2019. They identified pregnancy-related deaths using the pregnancy checkbox and International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes from 2010 to 2019 for 33 states plus the District of Columbia, calculated pregnancy-associated death ratios, and classified deaths by cause, timing relative to pregnancy, race or ethnicity, and age. Between 2010 and 2019, there were 11,782 pregnancy-related fatalities, including 11.4% owing to drugs, 5.4 % due to suicide, 5.4% due to homicide, 59.3% due to obstetric reasons, and the remaining 18.5% due to other causes. 22.2% of pregnancy-related fatalities were caused by drugs, suicide, or homicide. During the research period, all 3 causes of mortality rose, with drug-related pregnancy-related fatalities rising by 190%. Homicide during pregnancy and drug-related fatalities, suicides, and homicide in the late postpartum period (43–365 days) accounted for a higher proportion of all deaths in these time periods than their contribution to all deaths among women of reproductive age. Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native women who were pregnant or postpartum were at the highest risk of drug-related and suicide mortality, whereas non-Hispanic Black women were at the highest risk of homicide. Moreover, a quarter of all deaths during pregnancy and the first year after delivery are caused by drug use, suicide, or homicide. Over the last ten years, drug-related fatalities and murders have risen.
Pregnancy-Related Deaths Due to Drugs, Suicide, And Homicide
