A systematic investigation of 16 cases of neonaticide.
OBJECTIVE
Neonaticide, or infant murder on the day of birth, is often preceded by denial of pregnancy. The preponderance of case reports of neonaticide describes a pattern of pregnancy denial, dissociation, and ego disorganization. The author systematically investigated the clinical characteristics of 16 women charged with homicide in the United States after alleged neonaticides.


METHODS
The women received a psychiatric evaluation and were administered the Dissociative Experiences SCALE:


RESULTS
Nearly all of the women reported similar precipitants and symptoms, including depersonalization, dissociative hallucinations, and intermittent amnesia at delivery.


CONCLUSIONS
The characteristics of the women in the study were similar to those reported in the literature on neonaticide. The existence of this common pattern suggests that treatment strategies can be designed for women at risk for neonaticide.
Spinelli
M G
MG
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, 10032, USA. mgs8@columbia.edu
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000647:Amnesia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D003717:Denial, Psychological; D003861:Depersonalization / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007237:Infanticide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D016743:Mental Competency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D014481:United States