1414

Murder of the Newborn: A Psychiatric

Review of Neonaticide

Ifl l’IIILLIP J. RFSNICK. I.l).

The author believe.s that the killing of a birth(9). A merciless environment f’orced Es- newborn hab’ is a separate entitt’ Iron? other kimos to kill infants with congenital anom- filicides, differing in regard to the diagnosis. alies as well as one of niost sets of twins( 12). mall yes, and legal dispo.sitioiz ott/ic - The killing of’ female infants was common in er. Wherea.s most fthcide.s are conzmitted for many cultures. In China this practice was ‘altruistic’’ reasons. m?io.sl izeonaticides are widespread as late as the 1800s. Daughters carried out .swzplv because the child is not were sacrificed because they were unable to wanted. The author notes the different psy- transmit the family name and imposed the chological charact eri.ctic.v 01 mother.s who burden on their of paying their mar- com;i milit these two crinze.s. L egal con.cidera- riage portion(29, 41). It is claimed that the tion.s and the present .slalu.c o/ neonaticide are widespread murder of children in ancient also th.s’cu.s.v ed. times was first stemmed by the influence of’ the Christian religion(43). A simple child. In the literature, all child by par- That lightly draws its breath. ents are usually lumped together under the And feels its life in every limb. term “.” In the author’s opinion, What should it know of ’? \ oRDSWoRTH(5O) there are two distinct types of . “Neonaticide” is defined as the killing of a neonate on the day of its birth. “” T HERE IS NO CRIME more difficult to com- is operationally defined as the murder of a prehend than the murder of a child by his son or daughter older than 24 hdurs. The own parents. Nevertheless, the killing of’chil- data for this paper were obtained by review- dren goes back as Far as recorded history. ing the world literature on child murder from Reasons have included population control, 1751 to 1968: relevant articles were found in illegitimacy. inability of the mother to care 13 languages. From these papers and three f’or the child, greed f’or power or money, cases treated by the author, 168 case reports superstition, congenital defects, and ritual were collected. A previous publication de- (40). The practice of’ stabilizing build- scribed the 131 cases that f’ell into the filicide ings by enclosing children in their foundations category(42). This paper will discuss the 37 is still symbolically represented by our f’oun- neonaticides(2, 3, II, 20, 21, 23-30, 32, 33, dation stones(47). 36. 44, 45. 48). The cases are reported in There was an ancient concept that those varying detail from mental hospitals, psy- who create may destroy that which they have chiatrists in practice, prison psychiatrists, created. Roman law formalized this concept and a ’s office. under patria potestas. which recognized a Since neonaticide is usually viewed in a sociologic context, it has received little at- father’s right to murder his children. Among tention in the psychiatric literature. The pur- Mohave Indians, half-breeds were killed at pose of’ this paper is to draw together our psychiatric knowledge about this crime. Read at the 125th anniversary meeting of the Ameri- can Psychiatric Association, Miami Beach, Fla., May Neonaticide will be shown to be a separate 5-9. 1969. entity. differing from filicide in the diag- At the time this paper was written Dr. Resnick was a resident in psychiatry, University Hospitals ofCleveland, noses, motives, and disposition of the mur- Ohio. He is currently an instructor in psychiatry. Case derer. Legal considerations and the present Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2040 Ahington Rd., Cleveland, Ohio 44106. status of neonaticide will be discussed.

58) Amer. J. Psychiat. 126: 10. April 1970 PHILLIP J. RESNICK 1415

Methods of eonaticide none occurred among the neonaticide cases.

The methods of’ neonaticide listed in Motives order of’ greatest frequency are suffocation, strangulation. head trauma, drowning. ex- In order to provide a framework for view- posure, and stabbing(6, 7, 13, 17, 35). Less ing child murder, the killings are divided into cotii mon methods include , five categories by apparent motive (table 1). burning, acid, lye, throwing to pigs, and This classification is based on the explana- burying alive. The need to stifle the baby’s tion given by the murderer and is indepen- first cry makes suffocation the method of’ dent of diagnoses. The “unwanted child” choice f’or mothers attempting to avoid murders are committed because the victim deteetion(38). The drownings are most of’ten was not desired or is no longer wanted by accomplished in toilets. Case reports of up his mother. The “acutely psychotic” mur- to 48 stab wounds or decapitation may re- ders are committed by mothers under the flect the bitterness of’ the abandoned girl, influence of hallucinations, epilepsy, or de- who sees the child in her lover’s image(34, lirium. The “altruistic” murders are carried 44). Some mothers use extreme cleverness out to relieve the victim of real or imagined to avoid discovery of their deed. In India suffering, or in association with . these methods have included drowning in “Accidental” murders, lacking in homicidal milk and poisoning by rubbing opium on intent, are often the result of a battered the mother’s nipples(3l). Some midwives child syndrome. The “spouse revenge” killed newborns by thrusting a needle under murders result from deliberate attempts to the eyelid or into the anterior fontanel(16, make the spouse suffer. 22). A needle f’rom one such unsuccessful It is apparent from table 1 that the mo- attempt was f’ound at in the brain tives that cause a mother to kill her newborn of a 70-year-old man(22). are considerably different from those that drive a mother to murder an older offspring. Whereas the majority of filicides are under- I)escript ion of the Murderers taken for an “altruistic” motive, the great The 37 neonaticides were committed by bulk of neonaticides are committed simply 34 mothers, two fathers, and in one case, because the child is not wanted. both parents. In order to simplify the data, The most common reason for neonaticide only the mothers who committed neonati- among married women is extramarital pa- cide will be compared to the mothers who ternity. One example(32) is a woman who committed fllicide(42). The mothers in the became impregnated by her brother-in-law neonaticide group (range 16 to 38 years) while her husband was in prison. After cool were significantly younger than the mothers deliberation, she murdered her infant at in the fIlicide group (range 20 to 50 years). birth to avoid suspicion of her affair. It is Whereas most (89 percent) of the neonati- commonplace for fathers to show some cide group were under 25 years old, the ma- jealousy of their newborn children. The one jority (77 percent) of’ the filicide group were case(26) in which both the husband and over 25. While 88 percent of the filicide wife were known to consciously plan the group were married, only 19 percent of the neonaticide group enjoyed that status. TABLE 1 Classification of Child Murder by Apparent Motive Comparison of the diagnoses of the two groups suggests that neonaticide and fIlicide MATERNAL MATERNAL CATEGORY NEONATICIDE FILICIDE are committed by two different psychiatric NUMBER PERCENT NUMBER PERCENT populations. Only 17 percent of the women Unwanted child in the neonaticide group were psychotic, but murder 2983 10 11 psychosis was evident in two-thirds of the Acutely psychotic murder 4 11 21 24 fIlicide group. A serious element of depres- “Altruistic” murder 1 3 49 56 sion was f’ound in only three of the neonati- Accidental” murder 1 3 6 7 cide cases, compared to 71 percent of the Spouse revenge murder 0 2 2 filicide group. Finally, suicide attempts ac- Total 35 100 88 100 companied one-third of the filicides, but

Amer. J. Psvchiat. 126.’ 10, April 1970 1591 1416 MURDER OF THE NEWBORN murder of their expected infant is an ex- The women in the second group-those treme example of this. The 28-year-old with strong instinctual drives and little ethi- father and 17-year-old mother made no cal restraint-are more callous, egoistic, preparations for the birth of their baby ex- and intelligent. They tend to be older, cept to dig a grave in the cellar. Both parents strong-willed, and often promiscuous. Their had physical deformities and feelings of crime is usually premeditated and not out of inferiority. They were deeply in love and keeping with their previous life style. could not bear the thought of a third party A prominent feature in several of the interfering in their relationship. The hus- neonaticides was the inability of the unwed band initially proposed the crime against girl to reveal her pregnancy to her mother. the “annoying animal” that deformed his This may be due to the girl’s shame or to fear “beloved wife’s virginal figure.” He assisted that her mother’s response would be anger, in the delivery at home, strangled the infant, punishment, or rejection. In addition, un- and buried it. resolved oedipal feelings may cause some of The stigma of having an illegitimate child these girls to have the unconscious fantasy is the primary reason for neonaticide in that their pregnancy is proof of incest. One unmarried women today, as it has been case treated by the author will be presented through the centuries. In 1826 Scott wrote: as an example of this speculation.

A delicate female, knowing the value of a Case Report chaste reputation, and the infamy and disgrace attendant upon the loss of that indispensable Mrs. C., a 36-year-old married, childless secre- character, and aware of the proverbial unchari- tary. committed neonaticide at age 17. However, tableness of her own sex, resolves in her distrac- she did not have her first psychiatric contact tion, rather than encounter the indifference of until she made a suicide attempt almost two dec- the world, and banishment from society, to sac- ades later. rifice what on more fortunate occasions, it Four months before her suicide attempt, Mrs. would have been her pride to cherish(46). C. found a letter indicating that her husband had Hirsch mann and Sch mitz(23) divided been unfaithful. As with each previous adversity she had encountered, she felt that this was retri- women who killed their illegitimate infants bution for her killing. She became anorectic into two major groups. The women in the and lost 22 pounds over a four-month period. first group are said to have “a primary She developed insomnia, indecisiveness, and in- weakness of the characterological super- ability to concentrate on her work. She began structure.” In the second group are women to feel that others could read her mind and in- with strong instinctual drives and little ethi- fluence her through voodoo. She had frightening cal restraint. All but a small minority of our dreams and fantasies in which both she and her 35 cases fall into the former group. These husband were beaten, murdered, and crucified. women are usually young, immature primi- When she looked in the mirror she saw herself as became preoccupied with paras. They submit to sexual relations rather a devil. She totally how “evil” she was, especially because of her than initiate them. They have no previous neonaticide. Feeling that she deserved to die, criminal record and rarely attempt . she drank a glass of corrosive liquid that caused Gummersbach(19) points out that passiv- esophageal stricture, eventually necessitating a ity is the single personality factor that most colon-esophageal transplant. clearly separates women who commit neo- The patient was the third of four sisters. Mrs. naticide from those who obtain . C. described her father as a jolly, outgoing, talk- Women who seek abortions are activists ative laborer who brought home his paycheck who recognize reality early and promptly weekly, but who was more like a roomer than a attack the danger. In contrast, women who husband. He “ran around,” and the patient had often heard her mother speak of the “other commit neonaticide often deny that they woman.” Her mother was described as a strong- are pregnant or assume that the child will willed, decisive, brusque woman who often hurt be stillborn. No advance preparations are the patient’s feelings. Even the tone of her voice made either for the care or the killing of the could make the patient feel as if she were being infant. When reality is thrust upon them by hit. Mrs. C. was constantly seeking her mother’s the infant’s first cry, they respond by per- approval but never felt that she received it. Her manently silencing the intruder. first memory occurred at age three. Her father

(601 Amer. J. Psychiat. 126: 10. April 1970 PHILLIP J. RESNICK 1417

had taken her out in a new dress and showed her her method of suicide damaged her own off to some men. They kidded him by saying throat. that she was too cute to be his. The patient had Various elements in the patient’s history a recurrent dream from age eight to 11 in which suggest that unresolved oedipal feelings a terrifying monster came at her from behind may have been instrumental in this neona- but never quite reached her. As far back as Mrs. ticide. Her first memory questions her blood C. could remember, her parents had slept in separate bedrooms. When she was 15 her par- relationship to her father. Throughout her ents separated permanently. However, her fa- childhood the patient was unable to feel ther would come back and have the patient close to her mother. During psychological launder his shirts. testing her response to Rorschach Card IV The patient dated the boy who impregnated was of particular interest. She appeared her only a few times. She passively submitted to terrified, threw down the card, and cried sexual relations to avoid his disapproval. She for a long time. She said it was dreadful, like did not know what to do about her pregnancy, the monster in her repetitive dream. Several but she was quite certain she could never let her months later she admitted that her first mother know. She corsetted herself and success- thought upon seeing the card had been that fully concealed the pregnancy from her family. Fortuitously alone at home when she began of her mother in a fur coat. After her par- labor, she gave birth in the bathroom to a ents’ separation Mrs. C. took over the rather male child. She strangled the infant with her intimate chore of doing her father’s laundry. hands and then hung it on a towel rack with a In spite of protesting, she proceeded to be- hanger until she had cleaned up. She wrapped come the “other woman” in relation to her the body in old clothes and put it in a dresser husband. The sum of these factors suggests it drawer overnight. The next day she put in the that Mrs. C. may have failed to reveal her rubbish, and her crime was never discovered. pregnancy to her mother because of the She was amazed at her own coolness. She claims unconscious idea that it would be viewed as she had no feeling of guilt at the time. “It was just something that had to be done.” proof of incest. However, since the killing she has tried to do Although there are no previous reports of good “to even things up.” She felt it would be neonaticide attributed to an oedipal issue, appropriate for her to die in childbirth as a this phenomenon has been observed in final balancing of the scales. She had an extended other pathological mother-child interac- affair with a narcotics addict that ended after he tions. There is one report in which a married had served a prison sentence. She felt it was her woman had an abortion because she un- “lot in life” to put up with this man even though consciously felt that she was carrying her he treated her badly. The man who subsequently father’s child(49). Zilboorg(5l) recounts a became her husband was married when she met case of de vression in a mother in which the him. During their affair she was very conscious of being the “other woman” of whom she had central theme was a wish to destroy her so often heard her mother speak. child because she viewed it as living testi- The final diagnosis was psychotic depression. mony of her unconscious incestuous attitude The patient’s psychotic thinking cleared early toward her father. in her three-month hospital stay. After her dis- charge she was seen weekly for one year as an Paternal Neonaticide outpatient. Although it is not uncommon for fathers Whereas some neonaticides result from to murder older children, it is rare for a psychosis. this case may be looked upon as father to kill a newborn infant. Fathers a psychosis resulting in part from a neonati- have neither the motive nor the opportunity cide. When Mrs. C. learned of her husband’s of mothers. Only two case reports were infidelity she developed murderous impulses found in which the father was the sole killer. toward him. In view of her past murder in One mentally deficient 32-year-old man poi- reality, it was difficult for her to experience soned his newborn child because he felt that these wishes at a conscious level. Instead his own poor health might result in his they took the f’orm of fears in her psychosis death, leaving no one to provide for his wife that both she and her husband would be and child(20). The other father was a bright murdered. It is noteworthy that as Mrs. C.’s 26-year-old man who was forced into thar- neonaticide injured her infant’s throat, so riage by his wife’s pregnancy(36). He saw

Amer. J. Psychiat. 126: 10. April 1970 (611 1418 MURDER OF THE NEWBORN the coming child as a bar to his ambition. a verdict of guilty and send the accused to On one occasion he put poison in his wife’s the gallows. Abse states, “Those juries knew soup in an attempt to cause the infant to be that at or about the time of birth, dogs, cats, stillborn. I-Ic strangled the infant while de- and sows.. sometimes killed their own livering it himself’. Although free of overt young. They were not prepared to extend psychosis at the time, he developed a full- less compassion and concern to a mentally blown picture of schizophrenia three years sick woman than they would to an excitable later. Both fathers were sentenced to ten bitch”( 1). years in prison. Fathers appear to receive A desire to make the punishment more more severe sentences than mothers for suitable to the crime led to the Infanticide neonaticide and for filicide(42). Act of 1922. This act reduced the penalties to those of for a woman who Disposition killed her newborn child while the “balance of her mind was disturbed from the effect Mothers who commit neonaticide are of giving birth”(29). Critics of this law sug- more likely to be sentenced to prison or gest that if a woman were insane at the time probation, whereas mothers who commit of the crime she should not be held respon- filicide are more likely to be hospitalized. sible, rather than be convicted of a lesser This difference is in keeping with the lesser cri me(4). number of psychoses in the neonaticide Several European countries provide lesser group. Victoroff(48) notes that there is some penalties for neonaticide than for adult appreciation that a mother who destroys murder. These universally apply only to the her own child constructs enough guilt in this mother: if a father kills a newborn child he act to punish her sufficiently for the crime. is charged with murder(21, 38). In the Juries often find that the woman accused of United States there is no legal distinction neonaticide does not correspond to their between the murder of adults and the mur- imagination of a murderess. For no other der of newborn infants. Although it is a crime is there such a lack of convictions(19). common occurrence to find dead newborn Even those who are convicted often receive infants in sewers, alleys, and incinerators only probation or minimal prison sentences. in any metropolitan community. convictions The likelihood of a woman’s killing a are rare because of’ the difficulty in proving second newborn child after standing trial the guilt of those responsible(2). Several for neonaticide is very slim. There are a few states have passed laws against the more reports in which a mother did kill two(10, easily prosecuted offense of concealment of 11) or three(5, 14) successive newborns. birth. However, in all but one case the previous In order to convict an individual of neo- neonaticides had been undiscovered and naticide it must be proven that he killed the unpunished. There is a greater chance of infant by a specific act of commission or recidivism if’ the crime is consistent with the omission(8). It must also be proven that life style of the mother. the infant breathed and had a viable sepa- rate existence from the mother after being Legal Considerations fully extruded from the birth canal. Proving live birth was made easier by Swammer- To understand the current legal status of dam’s discovery in 1667 that fetal lungs infant murder, it is instructive to review the would float on water if respiration had oc- English law regarding this crime. In the curred(40). However, this test was found to reign of James I, the law presumed an illegit- be not infallible, and even careful micro- imate newborn found dead to have been scopic examination of neonatal lungs today murdered by its mother unless she could does not always reveal a definitive an- prove by at least one witness that the child swer(2). The other vexing forensic problem had been born dead(48). In 1803 the same rules of evidence and presumption became is proving that the child was wholly born. required as in other murders(15). Death It is theoretically possible for a woman to sentences for this crime were almost invari- cut the throat of her half-born infant, report ably commuted(29). Juries hesitated to find the incident to the authorities, and there-

(621 Amer. J. Psychiat. 126.’ 10, April /970 PHILLIP J. RESNICK 1419 fore escape prosecution for either murder or an obstacle to parental ambition. However, concealment. Such cases have been re- illegitimacy, with its social stigma, is the ported(7). most common motive. The unmarried murderesses fall into two Present Status of Neonaticide groups. In the first group are young, imma- It is extremely difficult to get accurate fig- ture, passive women who submit to, rather ures on the incidence of neonaticide because than initiate, sexual relations, They often so many cases are never discovered. Pub- deny their pregnancy, and premeditation lished figures do suggest a decline in the last is rare. The women in the second group have century(7, 13, 17, 18, 37, 39). Several f’actors strong instinctual drives and little ethical may have contributed to this. Effective birth restraint. They tend to be older, more cal- control measures are now widely available. lous, and are often promiscuous. Since the advent of antibiotics, abortions It is speculated that unresolved oedipal are rarely life threatening. Homes for feelings may contribute to some neonati- unwed mothers have become available as a cides that have previously been attributed shelter from the “scoff and scorn of a taunt- to entirely sociologic f’actors. ing world,” and placement of unwanted REFERENCES children can often be arranged. Finally, welfare payments today have reduced a wo- 1. Abse, L.: Infanticide and British Law, Clin. man’s prospect of being destitute. Yet in Pediat. 6:316-317, 1967. spite of these advances, hundreds and 2. Adelson, L.: Some Medicolegal Observations on Infanticide, J. Forensic Sci. 4:60-72, 1959. possibly thousands of neonaticides still oc- 3. Baker, J.: Female Criminal Lunatics: A Sketch, cur in this country each year. J. Ment. Sci. 48: 13-25, 1902. Psychiatric intervention to prevent neo- 4. Bartholomew, A. A., and Bonnici, A.: Infanticide: nati#{231}ide is extremely difficult. Unlike fili- A Statutory Offence, Med. J. Aust. 2:1018-1021, 1965. cide, in which 40 percent of murdering 5. Buhtz, 0.: Totung von Drei Neugeborenen Kindern mothers seek medical or psychiatric consul- Durch Die Eigene Eheliche Mutter. Arch. Krimi- tation shortly before their crime, it is rare nol. ll&.14-19, 1942. for women who commit neonaticide to seek 6. Busatto, S.: Infanticidio per Arma Bianca, Arch. any type of prenatal care. One way to fur- Antro. Crim. 55:239-266, 1935. 7. Curganaven, J, B.: Infanticide, Baby-farming and ther reduce the incidence of neonaticide the Infant Life Protection Act, 1872, Sanitary would be a liberalization of abortion laws. Record, London l0409; 461, 1888-1889, 11:4: Although this approach is far from ideal, it 415, 1889-1890. would provide women a less cruel alterna- 8. Deadman, W. J.: Infanticide, Canad. Med. Ass. J. 9 1:558-560, 1964. tive than killing their newborn infant. Each 9. Devereux, 0.: Mohave Indian Infanticide, Psycho- neonaticide is tragic-not only for the infant anal. Rev. 35:126-139, 1948. but also for the continuing effect that the 10. Doerr, Fr.: Doppel-Kindsmord, Arch. Kriminol. crime has on the life of the mother. 65: 148-149, 1916. II. Drouinceau, 0.: Apropos d’un Infanticide, La Summary Revue, Philanthropique 38:49-54, 1917. 12. Garber, C. M.: Eskimo Infanticide, Scient. Month. This paper has attempted to show that 64:98-102, 1947. the killing of a newborn infant is a separate 13. Gilli, R.: L’infanticidio Nella Provincia di Firenze nel Cinquantennio, Minerva Medicoleg. 72:135- entity f’rom other filicides. Hence a new 138, 1952. word, “neonaticide,” is proposed for this 14. Glos: Eine Ruchfallige Kindsmorderin, Arch. phenomenon. When mothers who commit Kriminol. 20’.49-50, 1905. neonaticide are compared with mothers 15. Greaves, G.: Observations on Some of the Causes who kill older children, they are found to of Infanticide, Tr. Manchester Statist. Soc. 1-24, 1862- 1863. be younger, more often unmarried, and less 16. Grifliths, W. H.: Infanticide, Lancet 2:519-520, frequently psychotic. Whereas the majority 1873. of filicides are committed for “altruistic” 17. Grzywo-Dabrowski, W.: L’avortement et L’infan- reasons, most neonaticides are carried out ticide a Varsovie apr#{232}sIa Guerre, Ann. Med. Leg. 8:545-552, 1928. simply because the child is not wanted. 18. Guareschi, 0.: L’infanticidio Commesso su Reasons for neonaticide include extramari- Gemelli, Arch. Antrop. Crim. 6&.870-880, 1940. tal paternity, rape, and seeing the child as 19. Gummersbach, K.: Die Kriminalpsychologische

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Pers inlichkeit der Kindesm rdernnen und ihre 36. Pfister-Ammende, M.: Zwei Falle von Kindstotung Wertung im Gerichtsmedizinischen Gutachten, in Psychiatrischev, Beurteilung, Schweiz. Arch. Wien. Med. Wschr. 88:1151-1155, 1938. Neurol. Psychiat. 39:373-387, 1937. 20. Hackfield, A. W.: Crimes of Unintelligible Mo- 37. Pinkham, J. 0.: Some Remarks Upon Infanticide, tivation as Representing an Initial Symptom of an with Report of a Case of Infanticide by Drowning, Insidiously Developing Schizophrenia; Study of Boston Medical and Surgical Journal 109:411-413, Comparative Effects of Penitentiary vs. Hospital 1883. Regime on such Cases, Amer. J. Psychiat. 91:639- 38. Pollak, 0.: The Criminality of Women. Philadel- 668, 1934. phia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1950. 21. Harder, T.: The Psychopathology of Infanticide, 39. Puppe, 0.: Zur Psychologie und Prophylaxe des Acta Psychiat. Scand. 43:196-245, 1967. Kindesmordes, Deutsch. Med. Wschr. 43:609-615, 22. Haun, K.: Beitrag zur Lehre vom Kindesmord, 1917. Deutsch. Z. Ges. Gerichtl. Med. lO’.58-69, July 1927. 40. Radbill, X.: “History of Child Abuse and Infanti- 23. Hirschmann, V. J., and Schmitz, E.: Structural cide,” in Helfer, R. E., and Kempe, C. H. eds.: The Analysis of Female Infanticide, Psychother. 8:1-20, Battered Child. Chicago: University of Chicago 1958. Press, 1968, pp. 3-17. 24. Hulst, J. P. L.: Kinderdoodslag, Poging tot Ver- 41. Relative Prevalence of Infanticide in Japan and branden Grof Geweld en Worging, Nederl. China (discussion). Tr. Sei-I-Kwai, Tokyo, Trans. Geneesk. 2:1610-1616, 1927. 47:(Suppl. 12) 137-141, 1885. 25. Le Foyer, J.: Un Cas de Fausse Enclitophilie. Ann. 42. Resnick, P. J.: Child Murder by Parents: A Psy- Med. Leg. 19:47-57, 1939. chiatric Review of Filicide, Amer. J. Psychiat. 26. Ley, A.: Infanticide et Jalousie, Revue Droit Penal 126:325-334, 1969. et Criminologie 40’.30-49, 1940. 43. Ryan, W. B.: Child Murder in Its Sanitary and 27. Lopez Bancalari, E., and Delpiano, J.: Perturbacidn Social Bearings, Sanitary Review of London 4: Mental de Origen Gravidico, Pericia, M#{233}dicolegal, 165-184, 1857. Prensa Med. Argent. 24:1088-1090, 1937. 44. Sarrat, J.: Dc L’infanticide Dans Ses Rapports 28. Mann, E. C.: Psychological Aspects of Three Cases Avec Les Psychoses Transistoires des Femmesen of Infanticide Considered in Their Relations to Couches. Lyon: Facult#{233}de Medecin et de Phar- Forensic Medicine, Alienist and Neurologist 8:30- macic de Lyon, 1911. 42, 1887. 45. Saurbrey, J., and Wilcke, B.: Mental Confusion 29. Matheson, J. C. M.: Infanticide, Med. Age 15:741- Associated with Childbirth; 6 Case Reports, Acta 747, 1897. Med. Leg. Soc. 9 .237-245, 1956. 30. McDermaid, 0., and Winkler, E. 0.: Psychopa- 46. Scott, D.: Case of Infanticide, Edinburgh Medical thology of Infanticide, J. Clin. Exper. Psychopath. and Surgical Journal 26:62-73, 1826. 16:22-41, 1955. 47. Stern, E. S.: The Medea Complex: Mother’s 31. Mody, C. R.: An Essay on Female Infanticide; to Homicidal Wishes to Her Child, J. Ment. Sci. 94: which the Prize Offered by the Bombay Govern- 321-331, 1948. ment for the Second Best Essay Against Female 48. Victoroff, V. M.: A Case of Infanticide Related to Infanticide Among the Jodajas and other Rajpoot Psychomotor Automatism: Psychodynamic, Phys- Tribes of Guzerat was Awarded. Bombay: Educa- iological, Forensic and Sociological Considera- tion Society’s Press, 1849. tions, J. Clin. Exper. Psychopath. 16: 191-220, 1955. 32. Niedenthal. R.: Eine Verbrechersippe, Oeff. 49. Winnik, H. Z.: Psychopathology of Infanticide, Gesundheitsdienst III, 24:966-973. 1938. A Case Study, Israel Ann. Psychiat. 1:293-306, 33. Ortiz Velasquez, J.: Infanticidio, An. Acad. Med. 1963. Medillin, 2:68-72, 1946. 50. Wordsworth, W.: “We are Seven,” in Stevenson, 34. Paul, C.: Infanticide Sadique. Ann. Med. Leg. 22: 173-174, 1942. B. E.: The Home Book of Verse, vol. 1. New York: 35. Perotti, D.: Infanticidio con Arma da Taglio, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965, pp. 3 16-318. (Scannamento e Ferite Multiple). Boll. Soc. Mcd- 51. Zilboorg, 0.: Sidelights on -Child Antag- icochir. Pavia,4: 191-213, 1929. onism, Amer. J. Orthopsychiat. 2:35-43, 1932.

Let thy discontents be thy secrets; if the world knows them, ‘twill despise thee and increase them. -BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

1641 Amer. J. Psychiat. 126: 10, April 1970