2. CONTENT
Introduction
Still Birth
Dead Birth
Live Birth
Signs of Live Birth
Causes of Infant Death
A Case Study
3. Infanticide is unlawful destruction of a
child under the age of one year by
anyone.
Filicide is killing of child older than 24
hours by its own parents.
1. Maternal Filicide
2. Paternal Filicide
Feticide is the killing of fetus at any
time prior to birth.
Neonaticide is killing of an infant
within 24 hours of birth.
4. STILL BIRTH
A stillborn child is one which is born after
28th week of pregnancy and which did
not breathe or show any other signs of
life at any time after being completely
born.
Salient Features :
1) Sudden Antenatal Death Syndrome (SADS)
2) The child was alive in utero.
3) Frequently occurs among immature male
children.
4) Incidence
5) Causes
6. DEAD BIRTH
A deadborn child is one, which has
died in utero, and shows one of the
following signs after it is completely
born.
1) Maceration
2) Rigor Mortis
3) Putrefaction
4) Adipocere
5) Mummification
7. Maceration
Process of “Aseptic Autolysis”
Remains in utero – 3 to 4 days in liquor
amnii, without air.
If air present – Putrefaction
Features
1. Earliest sign – Reddening of skin with
peeling and slippage (12 hrs)
2. Robert’s sign - Presence of gas in great
vessels (aorta – 12 hrs)
3. Body – soft, flaccid, flattens out when
placed on level surface
4. Sweetish, disagreeable odour
5. Large blebs – with serous or
serosanguinous fluid
8. 6. Abdomen distended, bones flexible
readily detachable, joints abnormally
mobile
7. Viscera – soft oedematous and lose
their morphology (lungs and uterus)
8. Umbilical cord – red, smooth, thickened,
and soft
9. Skull bones seperated
10. Brains has greyish – red pulpy
appearance
11.Collapse of vertibral column appears
Spalding sign – Appears 2days after
death. Overlapping of fetal skull bones
10. • The foetus is alive, complete birth?
OR
• at least one part of its body comes out of the
mother’s body?
Sign Of Live Birth
As Recognised By Civil Law
a.Cry of the baby - Vagitus vaginalis
and
Vagitus uterinus
b. Movement of any part of body
c. Sneezing and yawning
d. Heartbeat
LIVE BIRTH
11. SIGNS OF LIVE BIRTH
Shape of the Chest
• Before respiration – Flat
• After respiration – Drum shaped
Position of Diaphragm
• Before respiration – at level of 4th or 5th rib
• After respiration – at level of 6th or 7th rib
Lungs
• Radiography of lungs
• Microscopic Examination
• Test for fetal lung maturity
12. Difference between Lungs of Infant BEFORE and
AFTER Respiration
SR.
NO.
POINTS BEFORE RESPIRATION AFTER RESPIRATION
1 Volume Normal or Small Larger and cover the
heart
2 Margins Sharp Rounded
3 Consistency Dense, Firm, non-
crepitant
Soft, spongy, elastic,
crepitant
4 Color Uniformly reddish-brown
or bluish-red
Mottled or Marbled
appearance
5 Blood in Lung
Beds
Normal Twice than normal
6 Weight 1/70 of body weight 1/35 of body weight
7 Air vesicles Not Inflated Inflated
8 Section Little frothless blood
exudes on pressure
Abundant frothy blood
exudes on section
9 Floatation Whole and parts sink in
water
Expanded areas or
whole float in water
13. Examination of Lungs
• Static Test or Fodere’s Test
• Ploucquet’s Test
• Hydrostatic Test (Raygat’s Test)
Changes in Stomach and Intestines
• Breaslau’s second life Test
• Presence of milk/honey in stomach
Changes in Ear
• Wredin’s Test
Other Signs
• Blood
• Meconium
• Caput Succedaneum
• Skin
• Umbilical Cord
• Placenta
• Circulation
19. UNNATURAL CAUSES
ACCIDENTAL
During Birth
• Prolonged Labor
• Prolapsed cord or Pressure on cord
• Twisting of cord around neck or knobs of the cord
• Injuries to the mother
• Death of mother
After Birth
• Asphyxia
• Precipitate Labor
21. CRIMINAL
Act of Commission
• Strangulation
• Suffocation
• Drowning
• Burning
• Fractures and Dislocation of cervical
vertebrae
• Wounds
• Poisoning
• Blunt head Injury
22. Act of Omission or Neglect
The following Acts of Omission amount
to crime:
Failure to
• Proper assistance during labor
• Tie cord
• Clear air passage
• Exposure to heat /cold
• Proper food
23. Abandoning of Infants : Section 317 of
IPC
If the father or mother of a child under
the age of 12 years, or anyone having a
care of such child, leaves such a child in
any place with the intention of abandoning
the child, shall be punished with
imprisonment upto 7 years.
Concealment of Birth : Section 318 of IPC
Whoever, secretly buries or otherwise
disposes of the dead body of child,
whether such child dies before or after or
during its birth, intentionally conceals the
birth of such child, shall be punished with
24. A Case Study
On 6/5/2011 Mrs.Seetha was admitted in
government maternity hospital where she
gave birth to a female child at 5.43 pm. On
the same day between 9.30 pm and 10 pm
the baby was found dead. The treating
Obstetrician, Dr Shobha Nagesh complained
to the Peenya police about the suspicious
death of the baby. A case was booked U/S
174 ‗C‘ Crpc and the requisition for autopsy
was given by police.
On perusal of history, hospital case records,
autopsy findings and histopathological report,
cause of death was opined as ―Death is due
to combined effect of manual strangulation
and blunt injuries to the head, chest and
abdomen sustained (Homicidal in manner)”.
25.
26. References
https://www.slideshare.net [Infanticide
and Child Abuse]
https://www.slideshare.net [Infant Death
1]
https://studylib.net [Infanticide [PPT] ]
The Essentials of Forensic Medicine and
Toxicology by Dr. KS Narayan Reddy
Infanticide - Handbook of Forensic
Medicine and Toxicology
Textbook of Forensic Medicine &
Toxicology by Nageshkumar G Rao
Case Study -
file:///H:/Infanticide%20Case%20Study.p
df