Psychosocial risk factors as contributors to pregnancy-associated death in Virginia, 1999-2001.

Objective: To determine if substance abuse, mental illness, and domestic violence contributed to preventable pregnancy-associated death and to describe characteristics of women for whom these factors contributed to death.

Methods: The medical records of 121 women who had pregnancy-associated deaths in Virginia between 1999 and 2001 were reviewed. The incidence of substance abuse, mental illness, and domestic violence was noted during systematic review.