Higher chances of pregnant women falling victim to assault-related trauma

Pregnant women are at higher probability of falling victim to an assault-related trauma- and die from their injuries- than a trauma that is related to accident such as car accidents or falls when compared to women who are not pregnant, according to a new research.

The findings indicate the opportunity intercession to protect pregnant women.

“The striking results of our study suggest that widespread screening for violence and trauma during pregnancy may provide an opportunity to identify women at risk for death during pregnancy,” said lead study author Neha Deshpande from Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in the US.

For the study, data from Pennysylvania Trauma Outcomes Study database was used by the researchers. The database is a detailed and validated registry and includes records of admissions to all the trauma centres in state.

Admissions from 2005 through 2015 were focused upon in the research. Almost 45,000 cases were included. These were women of childbearing age, that is, 14-49.

According to researchers’ findings, pregnant trauma victims, on an average suffered less severe injuries than non-pregnant women.

But despite suffering less severe injuries, pregnant women had twice the chances of losing their lives when they arrived at the hospital or when they were in the hospital.

So, according to results it was concluded that more than accident-related trauma, assault-related trauma was deadly.

“Since the typical definition of maternal deaths includes only those directly caused or impacted by pregnancy, it does not include accidental or incidental causes of death, making it difficult to accurately gauge the burden of trauma-related deaths on maternal mortality,” said senior author Corrina Oxford, Assistant Professor at Perelman School of Medicine.

“However, evidence presented in our study suggests this is a pervasive issue that requires further attention to ensure these women, and their babies, are being properly cared for,” Oxford said.