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PubMed1996

Infanticide of defective newborns: an old midwife's story.

The story of how a midwife many years ago dealt with defective newborns is used to illustrate complete control by a system external to the family. Similarities exist with current public policy concerning the interrelated issues of abortion, neonatal euthanasia, and infanticide in which the family system is often ignored. It is argued that the family's values, expectations, and desires are relevant to the establishment of public policy in this sensitive domain.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Suffer the little children: the ancient practice of infanticide as a modern moral dilemma.

Inherent in nursing practice is respect for human life. Traditionally, this respect has been guided by the sanctity-of-life principle as embraced by the Jewish and Christian faiths. However, there appears to be a shift in philosophical thought regarding the inviolability of human life in medical and nursing practice. The very notion of what constitutes human life is the subject of vigorous debate, both within and outside the hospital-institutional setting. The topic of infanticide is examined from traditional Jewish and Christian perspectives and contrasted with current philosophical thinking. Pediatric nurses are challenged to reflect on how this potential shift in values will affect their personal philosophy and professional practice.

Child Advocacy↗
PubMed1990

Cranial nerve palsy as a delayed complication of attempted infanticide by insertion of a stylet through the fontanel. Case report.

A child suffered a sixth and seventh cranial nerve palsy due to intracerebral insertion of a stylet. The stylet was introduced through the anterior fontanel, most probably in an attempt at infanticide. The migration of the stylet through the brain was monitored because the child was first examined 6 years earlier. At operation the cranial part of the stylet lay in the fourth ventricle, compressing the facial nerve as well as the nucleus of the abducens nerve. The lower part of the stylet had reached the C-5 level.

Abducens Nerve Injury↗
PubMed1999

[Forensic medicine report of infanticide cases in Valais in the 19th century].

In cases of infanticide the medical expert's report plays an important role for accused women because magistrates take this report as the basis of their judgment to prove that the newborns had lived and hence to term it a crime and to establish how dangerous the mother is. The analysis of medical reports of Valais sheds light on the structure of these reports in a catholic country of the nineteenth century. The attitude of physicians towards the presumed mothers during their investigation and the description of the circumstances in which the neonates' corpses were found, demonstrate that the doctors apply moral judgments in their evaluation of the situation. Moreover, there appear to be major discrepancies between the precision, the strictness of the investigation and the doubts of the conclusions.

Catholicism↗
PubMed2000

Petechiae of the baby's skin as differentiation symptom of infanticide versus SIDS.

The successive killing of three siblings by their biological mother at two-year intervals is described. The children were 367 days, 75 days and 3 years old. Although sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or interstitial pneumonia could not be ruled out as the cause of death in the two younger children, who were killed first, the third child exhibited discrete signs of violence in the mouth and throat area which were interpreted as proof of infanticide. All three children had petechiae of the skin of the face and throat, the upper thorax, the shoulders and the mucous membranes of the mouth. None of the children exhibited signs of a disease-related hemorrhagic tendency. After the mother was convicted of murdering the three-year-old boy by smothering in combination with compression of the thorax, she confessed to having killed the other two children in a similar manner. In the absence of hemostatic disease, the presence of petechiae of the skin extending over the entire drainage area of the Vena cava superior can be regarded as evidence of an increase in pressure in the thoracic cavity secondary to obstruction of the airways with simultaneous chest compression.

Asphyxia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Female infanticide and child neglect as possible reasons for low sex ratio in the Punjab, 1881-1931.

"The social and cultural practices prevalent in various parts of [India] resulted in the neglect of the female child...[in general, and] probably more so in the Punjab. Moreover, female mortality significantly exceeded male mortality in years of epidemics and famines. This paper tries to examine the socio-cultural and economic factors, namely, the system of land holdings and inheritance strategies, structured customs in different parts of the province, and notions of honour and status which probably have been at the back of neglect of the girl child. Among certain caste groups even female infanticide might not have been uncommon."

Asia↗
PubMed1991

[Contraception, abortion, and infanticide before modern vital registration].

"The author [investigated]...conscious limitations of fertility in the Czech Lands [during] the period before modern vital registration. She used three main...sources of data: the ecclesiastic literature..., medical literature and juridical literature." The data show that people did practice birth control, abortion, and infanticide despite laws and church teachings to the contrary. (SUMMARY IN ENG)

Abortion, Illegal↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Relations between mental deficinency and infanticide for "honoris causa"].

After giving hints about the world-wide spreading of infanticide and the factors affecting it, the Author examines causes and imputability. The psychological habitual and exceptional features of the infant-murder are considered in view of the so-called "honoris causa". It would result that a poor mental ability, a particular mood, the fear of disgrace generally are disregarded before the fundamental ethical inferiority. The Author does not agree upon an over benevolente valuation of the many cases where the moral immaturity is determinant, according to law rules which do not make the imputability depend on the ethical evaluation of ene's action; and for mental insufficiency, the decrease in one's responsability is maintained as justifiable not on the light of au honour motive but of mental ill-health.

Forensic Psychiatry↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Death of a twin--infanticide or intrauterine fetal death?].

The authors report an intrauterine death in a twin pregnancy. Due to external circumstances, infanticide was initially suspected. Forensic examination of fetus and placenta, however, revealed a placental cause for the death of the twin. The macerated fetus, which had been retained for at least one week, was expelled, apparently unnoticed, shortly before the live birth of the hypotrophic second twin. The question of the possibility of unnoticed fetus expulsion was discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Experimental test of female black howler monkey (Alouatta Pigra) responses to loud calls from potentially infanticidal males: effects of numeric odds, vulnerable offspring, and companion behavior.

During group defense, the contribution of female black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) may help deter male intruders; however, their involvement during natural intergroup encounters is facultative. Experimental playback trials simulating potentially infanticidal males were used to examine whether a female's reproductive investment and/or her group's relative fighting ability would influence her participation in loud call displays. Female howlers never responded to recordings without alpha male accompaniment, but their response patterns did not simply mimic his. For example, unlike alpha males, females with small, vulnerable offspring were no more likely than females without infants to participate in howling displays during playback trials. Further, although females without any small infants in their group got closer to speakers than females living in groups with small infants, males did not respond in the same way. To artificially simulate different "numeric odds" scenarios, recordings of one or three howling males (simulated intruders) were broadcast to females living in groups with 1-3 resident males. Responses were consistent with the hypothesis that females assessed intergroup fighting ability. As in alpha males, the weakest female responses occurred when the numeric odds were against their group. However, whereas alpha males participated most when numeric odds were in their favor, females had the most intense approach responses when the number of defending and intruding males was equal. Females appeared to use a cost-effective strategy, reserving their assistance for when their participation could have the greatest impact.

Alouatta↗
PubMed2003

Changes in unit structures and infanticide observed in Arsi geladas.

In 1989 a new gelada baboon ( Theropithecus gelada) population was found in Arsi, on the opposite side of the Rift Valley to that of the known gelada populations of Semien and Showa. Previous comparisons of units of the band at Gado Goro, Arsi, in the same season in consecutive years, indicated that unit structure is less stable among Arsi geladas as compared to the Semien population. Gelada units of the band at Gado-Goro were studied for 7 months in order to investigate the processes of social changes. Changes in unit structure were observed. Provisioning was carried out for 1.5 months at the beginning of the 7-month study period, in order to capture and obtain blood samples from the geladas. Following this, changes in male leadership of some units were observed, presumably as a consequence of the capture. However, natural changes also occurred. One change in unit structure occurred after a female gave birth, and changes in another unit occurred after the disappearance of the leader male. These changes involved female desertion of a unit, her subsequent transfer to a male unit, and culminated in the formation of a unit consisting of one female and one male. One successful and one attempted case of unification of units, and one case of change of a unit leader male are reported. These changes occurred among eight resident units in a period of 7 months (196 female months). Though the types of social changes were not much different from previous observations in Semien National Park, their frequencies seemed to be much higher. The characteristics of Arsi gelada social changes are proposed to be related to the small size of the units. We also describe a new confirmed case and one suspected case of infanticide, as well as one case of abortion at the time of male leader change.

Aggression↗
PubMed1982

Prenatal stimulation and postnatal testosterone affects infanticide in female rats.

Prenatal handling, prenatal stress, and early postnatal exogeneous testosterone were examined in female rats for their effects on rat pup-killing and pup retrieval. During each of the last 5 days of pregnancy. Long-Evans rats received either 3 minutes of handling, 45 minutes of restraint and intense illumination or remained untouched. Half of the offspring of each group received testosterone from Day 1 after birth to Day 30. In adulthood, animals that received handling prenatally and testosterone postnatally killed pups more rapidly than any other group and a larger proportion did so than in the control groups. Animals not manipulated at any time retrieved pups more rapidly and a larger proportion did so than the combined other groups. The study suggests that prenatal handling interacts with testosterone presented immediately postnatally to increase infanticide in female rats. A variety of perinatal manipulations seem to suppress pup retrieval.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Infanticide in the male rat: the role of the vomeronasal organ.

The present study constitutes the first demonstration that vomeronasal chemoreception plays a role in the response of the virgin male rat to conspecific newborn. Specifically, it shows that virgin males, after removal of the vomeronasal organ, exhibit a decrease in the incidence of infanticidal behavior. This finding is discussed in terms of how responsiveness to young can be affected by changes in the accessory olfactory system.

Aggression↗
PubMed1983

Intermale aggression and infanticide in aged C57BL/6J male mice: behavioral deficits are not related to serum testosterone (T) levels and are not recovered by supplemental T.

Healthy aged adult (24-26 months of age) and young adult (2-4 months of age) c57BL/6J male mice were assessed for intermale aggression, pup-killing behavior (infanticide), and circulating levels of testosterone (T). When compared to young adult male mice, aged adult males were highly variable in the exhibition of both androgen-dependent behaviors. Significant numbers of aged males exhibited deficits in aggression and pup-killing while other animals were as behaviorally active as their young male counterparts. Assessment of serum T showed that aging did not produce a reduction in levels of the steroid and individual variability in androgen-dependent behavior of aged males was not related to plasma levels of the hormone. When aged non-aggressive and non-killer males were exposed to supplemental T by way of subcutaneously implanted silastic capsules, circulating levels of the steroid were elevated but T-dependent behavior was not recovered. These findings, in combination with those previously reported for copulatory behavior, indicate that the deficits observed in the androgen-dependent behavior of aged male mice cannot be attributed to a breakdown in the production of testicular androgens. While neural refractoriness to T may account in part for deficits in androgen-dependent behavior of aged males, the variability that is observed in the reproductive behaviors of aged male rodents ultimately may be related to other sources of variation such as the perinatal environment.

Aggression↗
PubMed2006

Infanticide by subordinates influences reproductive sharing in cooperatively breeding meerkats.

In cooperative animal societies, dominant females typically show higher breeding success than subordinates, and are commonly believed to control the extent of reproductive sharing. However, studies of social insect societies reveal that subordinates too can interfere with the breeding attempts of others, with important implications for the distribution of fitness within colonies. Here, we show that subordinate females in a high-skew vertebrate (the meerkat, Suricata suricatta), also exert a substantial influence over the reproductive attempts of others. In meerkat societies, pregnant dominants are known to kill subordinate litters, but we show that pregnant subordinates also kill pups; not only those of other subordinates but the dominant's as well. Litters born to females of any rank were half as likely to survive their first 4 days if a subordinate was pregnant. However, dominant females were more likely than subordinates to give birth when no other females were pregnant, and so lost fewer litters to infanticide than subordinates. This is probably due in part to dominants employing counter-tactics to reduce the incidence of subordinate pregnancy. We discuss the broad implications of subordinates having a degree of control over reproductive sharing for future attempts to understand the distribution of reproduction in animal societies.

Aggression↗
PubMed1997

Infanticide risk and the evolution of male-female association in primates.

Year-round association between adult males and females is common in primates, even though internal gestation and lactation predispose males to mate-desertion in the majority of mammals. Because there is little a priori support for alternative explanations, we hypothesized that permanent male-female association in primates serves to reduce the risk of infanticide by strange males whenever females and infants are closely associated. For a phylogenetic test of this hypothesis, we reconstructed the evolution of male-female and female-infant association among primates. The results of Maddison's concentrated changes test confirmed the prediction that mother-infant association, as opposed to infant parking, and female-male association did not evolve independently. Changes in litter size and activity, in contrast, were not significantly associated with evolutionary changes in male-female association. Thus, we demonstrate a fundamental link between primate life history and social behaviour, explain the most basic type of variation in primate social organization, and propose an additional determinant of social organization that may also operate in other mammals.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Evidence for infanticide in bottlenose dolphins of the western North Atlantic.

Nine bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) calves that stranded in Virginia in 1996 and 1997 died of severe blunt-force trauma. Injuries were concentrated on the head and chest and multiple rib fractures, lung lacerations, and soft tissue contusions were prominent. Skeletal and/or soft tissue trauma occurred bilaterally in all of the calves. One had a bite wound across the left mandible that exhibited deep punctures consistent with the tooth placement in an adult bottlenose dolphin. The lesions were not compatible with predation, boat strike, fisheries interactions, rough-surf injury, or blast injury. However, they were similar to traumatic injuries described in stranded bottlenose dolphin calves and harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in Great Britain attributed to violent dolphin interactions. The evidence suggests that violent dolphin behavior was the cause of the trauma in the nine calves reported here and that infanticide occurs in bottlenose dolphins of the western North Atlantic.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Neonatal anesthesia for studies of hamster parental behavior when infanticidal aggression is a possibility.

Experiments involving investigation of the neuroendocrine basis for paternal care in rodents risk activation of aggressive behavior toward pups. To minimize pain and suffering during tests of parental responsiveness requiring retrieval of a displaced pup to its nest, a method of anesthetizing the pup was developed in Djungarian hamsters, Phodopus campbelli. A surgical plane of anesthesia, as measured by criteria, such as respiratory depression, loss of the pedal reflex, and failure to increase respiratory rate or to vocalize in response to handling, was achieved by use of intraperitoneal administration of a combination of ketamine and xylazine. Both parents (tested separately) expressed normal behavior toward anesthetized pups. In random order, a saline-injected or anesthetized pup was displaced from its nest in the home cage. There were no differences in pick-up or retrieval rates between saline and anesthetized pups for either parent. A third test using an unmanipulated pup confirmed that parental behavior was not reduced toward an anesthetized pup. However, if anesthetized pups were tested first among littermates, retrieval by males was less likely. This method will, therefore, underestimate retrieval behavior in males, but not females. Adult male hamsters that had never been parents also expressed expected behavior by attacking the pup in 45% of cases. This method provides an efficient and effective means of protecting pups while allowing adults to express a wide range of parental and infanticidal behaviors. It also has application in behavioral screening of transgenic strains toward unrelated young.

Anesthesia↗