By Tara Woodlee, President of Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Two Hearts Are Silenced: Why We Must Prioritize the Safety of Pregnant Women in America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Two Hearts Are Silenced, Every day in this country, pregnant women walk into doctors\u2019 offices to hear the steady beat of a second heart growing inside them, full of hope, life, and possibility. But for far too many, that heartbeat is silenced not by medical complications, but by violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know this truth all too well. My daughter Ashleigh was 20 years old, full of life, and 16 weeks pregnant with a baby girl she planned to name Patience Lynn when she was murdered by her partner. I lost both my daughter and my granddaughter in a single, devastating moment of domestic violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That pain lives with me every day, not just as a mother and grandmother, but as an advocate. I now lead Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence (BTSADV), and I\u2019ve made it my mission to shine a light on the hidden epidemic that far too many are unwilling to talk about: the staggering rates of homicide among pregnant and postpartum women in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Hidden Epidemic No One Is Talking About<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recent studies have shown that homicide is now one of the leading \u2014 and in some states, the leading \u2014 cause of death among pregnant women, often at the hands of intimate partners. These women are not just statistics \u2014 they are daughters, sisters, friends, and mothers-to-be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This crisis has been largely ignored in public health discourse. And recently, under the current administration, more than 350 federal research and victim support grants were quietly canceled \u2014 many of them tied directly to domestic violence prevention and maternal health. While funds have been redirected toward law enforcement-based strategies, critical research into intimate partner violence and pregnancy-related homicide was shuttered midstream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why National Research Matters<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some may ask, “Aren\u2019t the states already studying this? Don\u2019t we already know the risks?” The truth is, we only see part of the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To understand why national research is not only necessary but life-saving, take a look at the comparison below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n