Murder of pregnant women

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Murder of pregnant women is a type of homicide, often resulting from domestic violence. Domestic violence—or intimate partner violence (IPV)—is suffered by many, and when analyzing cases in which victims came forward, men are more likely than women to commit acts of severe domestic battery,^[1][2][3] and women are more likely to suffer serious injury as a result.^[4] Many of these women fear harm not just to themselves but also to their unborn children. Recently, more focus has been placed on pregnancy-associated deaths due to violence.^[5] IPV may begin when the victim becomes pregnant.^[6] Research has shown that abuse while pregnant is a red flag for pregnancy-associated homicide.^[7]

The murder of pregnant women represents a relatively recently studied class of murder. Limited statistics are available as there is no reliable system in place yet to track such cases.^[8] Whether pregnancy is a causal factor is hard to determine.