Washington D.C.: Turns out, physical assault during pregnancy, especially in the third trimester, can significantly increase the rates of babies born at very low birth weights. According to a study published by researchers at Princeton University, Stanford University and the University of Michigan, assault during pregnancy can lead to low birth weight and pre-term babies.

The researchers merged birth records with the locations of reported assault crimes reported by the New York City Police Department, which responded to almost 200,000 domestic violence incidents in 2017.