This document discusses infant death and defines key related terms such as infanticide, stillbirth, and maceration. It notes that infanticide is the unlawful destruction of a child under 1 year old and is usually committed by young unmarried women or widows at or shortly after birth. Stillbirth refers to a child born after 28 weeks of gestation that does not breathe or show signs of life. Maceration is the process of autolysis that occurs when a fetus remains in the uterus for 3-4 days after death, causing signs like skin reddening and peeling. The document also discusses viability and notes a fetus is considered viable at 28 weeks or 210 days of gestation.

1. Infant Death
Dr. Prasanna. P
Assistant Professor
Department of Forensic Medicine

3. Contents
• Definition
• Infanticide
• Still birth
• Dead birth
• Maceration
• Spalding sign

4. Definition
• Foetus
• Neonates
• Infant

5. • Infanticide act of England (1938)
Means “ the unlawful destruction of child under the age of 1 year”
Mother - charged
Disease
1. Psychotic disturbance
2. Depression
3. Stress (pregnancy, delivery, puerperium, & Lactation)

6. • Law In India
• No such act
1. Foeticide - killing any time prior to birth
2. Filicide - by parents
3. Neonaticide - deliberate killing of child within 4 weeks of its
birth.

7. • Infanticide
• “ the unlawful destruction of child under the age of 1 year”
• Its rare and usually committed by young unmarried woman or
widow.
• Committed at the time of birth or within few min or hours after birth
• Mother should be examined for recent delivery

9. • In case of child
1. Still born or Dead born
2. Viable or not
3. Born alive or not
4. How long child live
5. Cause of death

10. • Still birth
“child born after 28 wks of pregnancy & which did not breathe or show any
signs of life at any time after being completely born”
• More frequently in illegitimate and immature male child in primiparae
• Incidence is 5%

12. • Putrefaction
• Still birth - starts from outside
• If survived for sometime - starts in abdomen
• Meconium indicates – foetal distress
• Lungs are dark red.

13. • Causes
1. Prematurity
2. Birth trauma (ICH)
3. Placental abnormalities
4. Toxaemias of Pregnancy
5. Erythroblastosis foetalis

14. • Dead born
“ dead born child is one which has died in utero”
• Shows following signs
1. Rigormortis after delivery
2. Maceration
3. Mummification

16. 2. Maceration - process of “aseptic autolysis”
• Remains in utero - 3-4 days in liquor amnii, without air.
• If air present - Putrefaction
• Features
1. Earliest sign – reddening of skin with peeling and slippage
(12hrs)

17. 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.
6. Abdomen distended, bones flexible readily detachable, joints
abnormally mobile

18. 7. Viscera - soft oedematous and lose their morphology(lungs and
uterus )
8. Umblical cord - red, smooth, thickened, & soft
9. Skull bones separated
10.Brain has geryish – red pulpy appearance.
11.Collapse of vertebral column appears.

20. • Spalding Sign
• Loss of alignment & overriding of bones of cranial vault
• Due to shrinkage of cerebrum after death of foetus
• In early stage - only loss of alignment without overriding
• Vertex presentation > breech presentation

22. 3. Mummification
• Deficient blood supply
• Liquor amnii is scanty
• No air enters uterus

24. • Viability
“the physical ability of a Foetus to lead a separate existence after
birth apart from its mother”
• Viable - 210 days (28 completed wks or 7 mths)
• Smallest baby – 242gm measured 25cm.