Neonaticide: Phenomenology and considerations for prevention

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Abstract

This article explores the phenomenon of neonaticide, the murder of an infant during the first day of life. Characteristics of maternal neonaticide offenders in industrialized countries were identified based on a systematic literature review. Neonaticides were most often committed by poor, relatively young, single women who lacked prenatal care. Efforts to better prevent these tragedies should include improved sex education and contraceptive access. Two legal responses to the problem of neonaticide, Safe Haven laws utilized in the United States, and anonymous birth options in Europe are discussed.

Introduction

The day during which a person is at the highest risk of homicide is the first day of life (Crittenden and Craig, 1990, Marks and Kumar, 1993). Resnick (1970) coined the term “neonaticide” to describe the killing of an infant in the first 24 h of life. In one American state, annually 2.1 per hundred thousand newborns are either killed or left to die (Herman-Giddens, Smith, Mittal, Carlson, & Butts, 2003). In comparison, neonaticide rates in Finland are between 0.07 and 0.18 per hundred thousand (Putkonen, Weizmann-Henelius, Collander Santtila, & Eronen, 2007). Rates are believed to be underestimated in epidemiological studies (Botash et al., 1998, Ewigman et al., 1993, Wilczynski, 1997), because of hidden disposal of corpses, and incorrect coroners' rulings of accidental death in some actual homicide cases.

In Resnick's initial landmark study, mothers who committed neonaticide were primarily young, unmarried women, free of major psychiatric disorders, who had unwanted pregnancies. d'Orban's landmark British study (1979) confirmed that neonaticidal mothers often were young, unmarried, and had not been suffering from depression or psychosis. Japanese neonaticide falls into two categories: “mabiki” (“thinning out”; historically more frequent in Japan), and “anomie” which currently predominates. In “mabiki”, women or married couples, usually with other children, kill a legitimate neonate because of their impoverished state; “anomie” is similar to neonaticide reports in other developed nations (Sakuta & Saito, 1981).

Often, newspaper reports describe overwhelmed and ashamed young women who give birth alone at home, after denying or concealing pregnancies. These infants may die by either active means (such as suffocation) or passive neglect. The public often hears of the crime only when a dead infant is found.

We recently analysed the literature regarding maternal filicide (child murder by mothers) and neonaticide (Friedman, Horwitz, & Resnick, 2005). The current article will review the literature regarding potential predictors of maternal neonaticide in developed nations, and discuss considerations for prevention.

Section snippets

Methods

This review was based on PubMED Medline searches using the terms neonaticide and infanticide. References given in articles were also scrutinized. We included neonaticide studies (rather than case reports/series) published in peer-reviewed journals or books in English, over the past quarter century. As in our previous report, we classified studies by population type and country. Studies of maternal child murder were divided into those occurring in the general population, correctional samples,

Results

Table 1 lists the characteristics and findings of the selected neonaticide articles. Studies were found from the following countries: Australia (3), Finland (3), United States (3), England and Wales (2), Brazil, Croatia, Hong Kong, Japan, and Scotland. All of the studies were retrospective. Most studies were drawn from the general population via record review, such as of coroner or newspaper reports.

In the general population studies, maternal perpetrators of neonaticide were usually single,

Discussion

Research results on neonaticide throughout the English speaking developed world over the past quarter century are fairly consistent. Women who kill their newborns are often single and have denied or concealed their pregnancies. Common themes include powerlessness, poverty and isolation in the women's lives (Friedman et al., 2005). However, these characteristics are present in a very large number of young women with unwanted pregnancies. These characteristics should not be considered a “profile”

Conclusion

Research regarding neonaticide shows a fairly common pattern of poor, unmarried women with unwanted pregnancies who kill their newborns. However, not all women who commit neonaticide fit this pattern. There is a high incidence of pregnancy denial or concealment, and lack of prenatal care. This makes prevention of neonaticide difficult. Safe Haven laws in the US and anonymous birth options in other countries show some promise, but have not yet proven to be effective on a broad scale.

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