This document discusses infanticide and the signs of live birth in infants. It defines different types of infant deaths such as stillbirth, dead birth, and live birth. It outlines signs that indicate a live birth occurred, including lung examination and changes to the stomach and ears. The causes of infant death are categorized as natural, unnatural-accidental, unnatural-criminal acts of commission or omission. A case study example of a suspicious infant death investigated by autopsy is also provided.

1. INFANTICIDE
Presented By:Siddhi Kuperkar (MSc-1)
Institute of Forensic Science, Mumbai.

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

5. Causes
 Prematurity
 Birth Trauma
 Placental abnormalities
 Toxaemias of Pregnancy
 Erythroblastosis foetalis

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

9. Maceration
Mummification
Putrefaction

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

16. CAUSES OF
INFANT
DEATH
NATURAL UNNATURAL
ACCIDENTAL
DURING
BIRTH
AFTER
BIRTH
CRIMINAL
ACTS OF
COMMISSION
ACTS OF
OMISSION

17. NATURAL CAUSES
 Prematurity
 Birth Trauma
 Neonatal infection
 Post maturity
 Pre-ecclamptic toxemia
 Congenital malformation
 Intrapartum asphyxia
 ABO and Rh-incompatibility
 Early seperation of placenta
 SIDS

18. Congenital
Malformation
Post Maturity
Neonatal Infection

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

20. Twisting of
the Cord
round the
neck
Knots of
the Cord

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)”.

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
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