«The child has lived and breathed.» Forensic examinations of newborns 1910–1912

Abstract

One hundred years ago, forensic examination of deceased infants was not an uncommon task for doctors in Norway. The key questions were whether the infant had been born alive and whether the manner of death could be explained. The decomposition of the corpses, which had often lain hidden long before they were examined, posed a considerable problem. Notwithstanding the known shortcomings in the criteria used for assessment of breathing (the lung flotation test), and the fact that the bodies were often severely decomposed, the lung flotation test and the supposed signs of asphyxiation were used indiscriminately. This absence of association between theoretical knowledge and practice may have had its origin in societal conditions in which clandestine birth and the killing of newborns was not uncommon.