Foetal abuse.

Pregnancy and motherhood are often presented as natural and unproblematic for women. The fact that there are some women who engage in violent behaviour towards their unborn child suggests that motherhood is not as unproblematic as we are led to believe. This paper presents six previously unpublished cases of foetal abuse that is physical assaults on the foetus by the mothers themselves, and examines how the prevailing myth of the good mother might be further endangering mothers and their unborn children. So far, the research suggests there are some common, possibly co-occurring, features that might be an antecedent to foetal abuse: unplanned pregnancies, prior mental health issues in the mother, trauma, pregnancy denial up to 20 weeks or until birth, and ideation of harm correlated to in utero movements.

Attempted Serial Neonaticides: Case Report and a Brief Review of the Literature.

Neonaticide is an infant murder occurring on the day of birth. The case reports found in the literature are often focused on the mother as the agent in the context of pregnancy denial, dissociative symptoms, or psychosis. However, this report describes a rare case of attempted serial neonaticides, in which the acts were committed by a nurse at the nursery of a referral hospital in Brazil. The authors describe a forensic psychiatric evaluation for criminal responsibility and correlate the information from this particular case with relevant forensic themes, namely neonaticide, Munchausen by proxy syndrome, and serial healthcare killers.

Child homicide by parents in Chile: a gender-based study and analysis of post-filicide attempted suicide.

INTRODUCTION: The victimization of children has attracted considerable attention over the years. Some authors conceptualize child murder as an intra-familial phenomenon. Over the last 40 years, extensive literature has suggested that there are differences between neonaticide and infanticide, and differential characteristics between filicidal men and women. Although suicide attempts after these crimes have not been as widely studied, there are some distinctive features compared to non-suicidal filicide. STUDY PURPOSE: The main objective of the current study was to analyze the phenomenon of filicide in the Chilean population. METHODS: The sample consisted of 98 cases of filicide committed in Chile between 1998 and 2009 that were evaluated in the Area of Mental Health of the Legal Medical Service (LMS) of Santiago, Chile. Forensic reports including psychiatric and psychological evaluations of the perpetrators were reviewed and variables extracted. Bivariate analyses were used to determine differences between male and female filicide perpetrators and the possible differences between the presence and absence of a suicide attempt following filicide on selected demographic, situational, and psychopathological variables. Then, logistic regression was used to identify which of the variables may be relevant (significant predictors) to the presence of a suicide attempt following the commission of an infanticide. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Analysis of the data revealed differences between filicidal men and women with regard to demographic characteristics, but the differences in psychopathological factors and variables that were related to the crimes were minor. A comparative analysis of the filicide perpetrators based on post-crime suicide attempts did not find significant differences between groups. In addition, a predictive analysis of suicidal behavior concludes that individual variables (such as the level of education of the person committing infanticide and the method used for the homicide) are not sufficient to explain the entire phenomenon by themselves.

Reflections on the care delivered in a suspected case of infanticide.

This study resulted from the experience of supervising a suspected infanticide case hospitalized at a psychiatric ward. We aimed to find support in scientific literature about infanticide, point out an interdisciplinary health team's affliction and uncertainties when faced with this kind of case and suggest strategies for dealing with these feelings and their possible consequences in dealing with this case. Professionals involved in this case observed their discomfort about the situation and difficulties caused by feelings of guilt about the child's death, whether intentional or not. Specialists suggests that the relation between psychiatry and the law should be facilitated by "demedicalizing" the crime, including socioeconomic factors, comorbidities, domestic violence, cultural norms etc. The team must try and learn from these mothers, overcoming their anger or repulsion with compassion and courage to understand infanticide.

Neonaticide in the city of Rio de Janeiro: forensic and psycholegal perspectives.

This is a retrospective study of mothers charged with killing their children within 24 h of birth in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Characteristics of the mothers and the victims, the circumstances surrounding the offense, the mothers' motivation and state of mind at the time of the offense, the legal process, and follow-up data were investigated. We analyzed our cohort as two sub-groups: 26 offenses that occurred between 1900 and 1939 and were dealt with under the Brazilian Penal Code of 1890, and 27 offenses that were committed between 1940 and 1995 and were dealt with under the Penal Code of 1940. The mothers were young (mean 22.5 +/- 5.3 years), unmarried (88.2%), non-Caucasian (73.8%), and had limited formal education. They usually kept the pregnancy a secret (94.1%) and gave birth in a classified way (100%). Most victims were killed through wounding violence (77.4%). Offenders identified between the years of 1940-1995 had increased rates of literacy (chi 2 = 6.80, d.f. = 1, p = .009), a higher incidence of reported psychiatric symptoms (chi 2 = 11.82, d.f. = 1, p < .001), increased referral for psychiatric assessment (chi 2 = 3.85, d.f. = 1, p = .05), and greater frequency of cases where statute of limitations was expired (chi 2 = 3.88, d.f. = 1, p = .049).

Obsessions of infanticide and imminent psychosis

In young mothers an obsession of infanticide, that is, fear that they may murder their children, may be coupled with an obsession of imminent psychosis, that is, fear that the first obsession is a sign of approaching insanity. Sixteen mothers with this clinical picture were evaluated in interviews. Seven of them entered psychotherapy and improved. The causative factors in childhood and adolescence wich led to the later development of these obsessive difficulties are analyzed. Even when psychotherapy was not possible, as was the case in nine patients, they should be strongly reassured and explanations should be given about the nature of the problem, for such encouragement and clarification helps them to improve to a significant extent. The prognosis of patients who have systematic psychoterapy is good.

Sudden infant and child death as a cultural phenomenon: a Tlaxcalan case study.

THE Sudden Death of infants and young children (SICD) constitutes a recurring problem in all societies. In contemporary industrialized societies, many factors known to cause these deaths have been clarified and controlled. Yet, as an outcome of such things as unrecognized disease, accidents, so-called crib death, and parental neglect or abuse, the prevalence of SICD remains relatively stable even in contemporary Western societies (Adams et al. 1990; Campbell 1989; Kyle et al. 1990). The pathophysiology of these human tragedies has received much attention. However, the social, cultural, and psychiatric implications have been relatively neglected. In large part this is because in our secular culture these deaths are explained naturalistically; namely, as the result of disease, biological anomalies, or physiological failures, the meaning of which is not attributed to human or other worldly intervention. A result of this is that such deaths are usually deprived of a framework of meaning that has spiritual and existential connection to everyday affairs. An impersonal, natural way of explaining SICD often deprives the mourner of a meaningful cultural rationale that can facilitate emotional release and spiritual significance.

Confusion mental postemotiva (a proposito de un crimen extraño)

Al finalizar el año pasado produjose en esta Capital un hecho conmovedor y extraño. Una mujer joven, hija de madre leprosa, ultimó a su hijita unica, que ra también su unico objeto de adoración y ternura, pocos dias después de saber que estaba atacada del terrible mal que habia costado la vida a su madre, tratando de suicidarse luego.