Mortality of women with reported violence during pregnancy in Brazil: a case-control study

This study aimed to characterize the main causes of death of women with notification of interpersonal violence during pregnancy and to identify the factors associated with these deaths. This is a case-control study conducted based on relating data on violence to deaths that occurred in Brazil from 2011 to 2017. Data from the Braziliam Information System for Notificable Diseases and the Brazilian Mortality Information System were analyzed using multiple logistic regression. The results showed that 56.4% of the deaths were due to external causes, and 80.1% of which were due to femicide. The following risk factors associated with death were identified: age group from 30 to 39 years (OR = 2.53; 95%CI: 1.01-6.59); firearm assault (OR = 14.21; 95%CI: 4.58-31.86); and by piercing-cutting objects (OR = 4.45; 95%CI: 1.0122.73). Being married/in a stable union (OR = 0.48; 95%CI: 0.24-0.93); having more than four years of schooling (OR = 0.21; 95%CI: 0.06-0.63); and living in municipalities with a population over 100,000 inhabitants (OR = 0.23; 95%CI: 0.10-0.52) were observed as protective factors. The study was important due to demonstrating the magnitude of femicide among women with notification of violence during pregnancy, as well as the weaknesses in producing information on the external causes of death in the pregnancy-puerperal period. The study also evinced the factors that make women vulnerable to death, reinforcing the urgent need for health professionals to screen for violence