Abstract
Objective
To describe deaths due to accidents, suicides and homicide among pregnant or puerperal women.
Methods
This was a retrospective study on 169 deaths (108 of pregnant women and 61 of puerperal women) in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, covering the years 2006 and 2014, for which the data source was the Mortality Information System (SIM).
Results
Homicides were the main type of violence for pregnant women (34.9%) and puerperal women (23.1%). The deaths occurred in the age group of 20-49 years (n = 122; 72,2%), among women of nonwhite race/color (n = 141; 83,4%) and with no companion (n = 129; 76,3%).
Conclusion
Investigating deaths due to external causes during the pregnancy-puerperal period provides information that is useful for implementation of violence prevention strategies.
External causes; Pregnant women; Violence against women; Maternal mortality; Vital statistics; Postpartum period