Exposure to violence during pregnancy increases risk of prematurity and low birthweight

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-04/uol-etv041816.php

Public Release: 18-Apr-2016
Exposure to violence during pregnancy increases risk of prematurity and low birthweight
Queen Mary University of London and University of Leicester study suggests stress-induced events have negative effects on unborn children in early pregnancy
University of Leicester

Exposure to violence during the first trimester of pregnancy could lead to an increase in the risk of prematurity and low birthweight, according to research by Queen Mary University of London and the University of Leicester.

In a recent paper published in the Journal of Development Economics, researchers Professor Marco Manacorda (Queen Mary University of London) and Dr Martin Foureaux Koppensteiner (University of Leicester) focused on evidence from the exposure of day-to-day violence in Brazil by analysing the birth outcomes of children whose mothers were exposed to local violence, as measured by homicide rates in small Brazilian municipalities and the neighbourhoods of the city of Fortaleza.

The team estimated the effect of violence on birth outcomes by comparing mothers who were exposed to a homicide during pregnancy to otherwise similar mothers residing in the same area, who happened not to be exposed to homicides.

The study found that birthweight falls significantly among newborns exposed to a homicide during pregnancy and the number of children classified as being low birthweight increases - and that the effects are concentrated on the first trimester of pregnancy, which is consistent with claims that stress-induced events matter most when occurring early in pregnancy.

•••••