Neonaticide

Abstract

English Common law defines neonaticide as the killing of an infant within 24h of birth, however this definition will vary by country depending on there rule of law. Humans have a long history of neonaticide and in ancient times it was even an accepted practice. Nowadays, the incidents of neonaticide maybe under reported as the classification maybe difficult in the absence of trauma. There is no one indicative factor for the prediction of the risk of neonaticide, and there maybe various contributing factors. The roles of the pathologist include determining if the victim was born alive, ascertaining the cause of death, and collecting samples to help in the identification of the mother. The investigation of potential neonaticide requires methodical radiological (where available), external and internal examination by the pathologist.