Infanticide Rates Research Articles

A systematic review of postpartum psychosis resulting in infanticide: missed opportunities in screening, diagnosis, and treatment.

Impacting 1 in 1000 women, untreated postpartum psychosis is associated with a 4% infanticide rate. This systematic review aims to identify factors that are associated with infanticide resulting from psychosis in the puerperal period and pinpoint areas of missed opportunity for intervention. A systematic literature review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines to identify and synthesize cases of maternal infanticide among perinatal females with evidence of postpartum psychosis. Four independent reviewers screened 231 articles identified in searches of three databases (PsycInfo, PubMed, and Web of Science) for studies conducted from 2013 to 2023. Twelve studies were included in the final review. Findings indicate that those experiencing puerperal psychosis have increased incidence of infanticide suggesting missed opportunities for intervention and treatment. Common factors in mothers who committed infanticide as a result of delusions and/or hallucinations associated with PMADs were identified, including lack of standardized screening tools, preference for traditional and/or cultural healing practices, and access to care. The current body of evidence supports developing and evaluating clinical interventions aimed at improving maternal mental health outcomes and infant outcomes in perinatal women experiencing puerperal psychosis.

Opium and the Family in the Writings of Karl Marx

Marx's assertion that religion “is the opium of the people” is his most famous invocation of opium, but references to the drug appear throughout his work, providing a window into his theories of gender, the family, and the state. Responding to moral panics around a spike in rates of infanticide by opium among the working class in 19th-century England, Marx suggests that the spike was caused by women's increasing workforce participation. Marx uses trades of opium and cotton between England and China to exemplify problems with prevailing economic theories of money and exchange, but he also explains why opium and cotton were not comparable trades: the illicit opium trade in China undermined the Chinese government by promoting corruption. While many accounts of commodity trades in the 19th century treat opium as either a normal commodity or a moral disaster, Marx's invocations of opium and infanticide encompass a debate about working-class subsistence, changing bourgeois norms, and state power.

64.2 TEACHING ADULT PSYCHIATRY RESIDENTS ABOUT PERINATAL MENTAL HEALTH

The objective of this presentation is to address the knowledge gap in perinatal mental health (MH) in adult psychiatry training. Psychiatric residency programs rarely include formal training in women’s mental health issues across the life span, including during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Pregnant women frequently discontinue their mental health medications when learning they are pregnant—often at the suggestion of their psychiatrist or obstetrician, unfamiliar with the reproductive safety profile of commonly prescribed medications. This can lead to poorer outcomes of morbidity and mortality and higher rates of suicide and infanticide. Current robust evidence shows that exposing the developing fetus to untreated psychopathology may result in long-term adverse consequences for the child and the mother-baby dyad. These interconnections between perinatal MH and infant mental health can get lost in the “silos” of medical specialty training. This knowledge gap can result in critical errors in assessment, diagnosis, and intervention, and can contribute to poor outcomes for the mother, her child, and society in general. The presenters, a perinatal expert and a psychiatry trainee, use media-based educational content to demonstrate how an expert trains an adult psychiatry resident in important perinatal MH topics. The trainee explores the gaps in their understanding of perinatal MH, and the expert addresses these knowledge gaps through a lecture and videos following 2 pregnant women’s mental health experiences in a “telenovela” format. These dialogues offer compelling and relatable narratives that place didactic content in the social and cultural context of learners. This demonstration of media-based adult psychiatry training in perinatal MH and the related effects on infant development begins to fill an important knowledge gap for adult psychiatrists caring for pregnant women and their infants. The method of using interactive dialogue and video offers critical knowledge to clinicians treating this important population. There remains a significant knowledge gap in perinatal MH and infant mental health in adult psychiatrists. This gap can be recognized, understood, and filled by the development of innovative didactic and videotaped content that can be widely distributed across adult psychiatry residency programs.

Infanticide, neonaticide, and post-neonaticide: racial/ethnic disparities in the United States.

This study aims to assess recent trends and characteristics for infanticide and the sub-groups: neonaticide and post-neonaticide during the time period 2003-2017. Multiple Cause-of-Death Mortality Data were used to identify infanticides in the United States based on ICD-10 codes. Joinpoint regression analysis was used to calculate trends in the rates of infanticide, neonaticide, and post-neonaticide during the study period. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between the socio-demographic characteristics and each of the outcomes. During the study period, 4545 (1.2%) infants were identified as being victims of infanticide. The rates of neonaticide declined by 4.2% over the study period, whereas those of infanticide and post-neonaticide remained statistically unchanged. Males and non-Hispanic (NH) Blacks were more likely to be victims of infanticide and post-neonaticide, compared to females and NH Whites respectively, but had similar likelihood of neonaticide. While foreign-born residents exhibited nearly a fourfold increased likelihood of neonaticide, they had about 70% lesser likelihood of post-neonaticide than US-born residents.Conclusion: Reasons for the disparities found in this study are multifactorial. We believe that access to healthcare needs to be improved and community resources need to be made more available to address the proposed mechanisms that lead to infanticide. What is Known: • Among injury-related causes of death in infants, homicide has consistently been ranked as the second leading cause of injury-related death in this age group. What is New: • Males and non-Hispanic (NH) Blacks were more likely to be victims of infanticide and post-neonaticide, compared to females and NH Whites, respectively, whereas foreign-born residents exhibited nearly a fourfold increased likelihood of neonaticide as compared to Untied States residents.

Effects of in utero and lactational exposure to the no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) dose of the neonicotinoid clothianidin on the reproductive organs of female mice.

Recently, developmental exposure to clothianidin (CLO) has been shown to cause reproductive toxicity in male mice, but the effects in female mice remain to be clarified. Pregnant C57BL/6N mice were given a no-observed-adverse-effect-level (NOAEL) dose of CLO until weaning. We then examined ovaries of 3- or 10-week-old female offspring. In the CLO-administered group, morphological changes, a decrease in the immunoreactivity of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4), and activation of genes in the steroid hormone biosynthesis pathway were observed in 3-week-old mice, and decreases of GPx4 immunoreactivity, 17OH-progesterone and corticosterone levels were observed in 10-week-old mice, along with high rates of infanticide and severe neglect, providing new evidence that developmental exposure to CLO affects juvenile and adult mice differently.

How Does Economic Inequality Affect Infanticide Rates? An Analysis of 15 Years of Death Records and Representative Economic Data.

Background: Is there a relationship between economic inequality and infanticide rates? Few studies have examined the socioeconomic factors that trigger infanticide. This study aims to statistically analyze the effect of these factors on infanticide rates. Methods: This study used infant death records in South Korea from 2003 to 2017 to assess the impact of unemployment rates and various statistical indicators (e.g., GDP and income inequality index) on the rate of infanticide. A generalized additive model and a quasi-Poisson regression were used for statistical analyses. Results: A time-trend analysis shows that the infanticide rate tended to grow despite a decreasing trend in the quarterly infant mortality rate. A 1% increase in the unemployment rate is associated with a significant rise in the relative risk of infanticide after a lag of two quarters. Relative risks increased significantly three and four quarters after a 0.1 rise in the p80/p20 ratio (income inequality index). Conclusions: Policymakers should pay attention to socioeconomic factors while formulating healthcare regulations to protect potential infanticide victims, including vulnerable infants and their parents.

A de novo evolved gene in the house mouse regulates female pregnancy cycles.

The de novo emergence of new genes has been well documented through genomic analyses. However, a functional analysis, especially of very young protein-coding genes, is still largely lacking. Here, we identify a set of house mouse-specific protein-coding genes and assess their translation by ribosome profiling and mass spectrometry data. We functionally analyze one of them, Gm13030, which is specifically expressed in females in the oviduct. The interruption of the reading frame affects the transcriptional network in the oviducts at a specific stage of the estrous cycle. This includes the upregulation of Dcpp genes, which are known to stimulate the growth of preimplantation embryos. As a consequence, knockout females have their second litters after shorter times and have a higher infanticide rate. Given that Gm13030 shows no signs of positive selection, our findings support the hypothesis that a de novo evolved gene can directly adopt a function without much sequence adaptation.

Does Economic Inequality Relate to Infanticide? Analysis of 15 Years of Death Records and Representative Economic Data

Background: Is there a relationship of economic inequality and fluctuations with infanticide? There is a lack of studies on socioeconomic factors that trigger infanticide. Our study aims to analyse statistically the effect of these factors on the infanticide rate. Methods: We used infant death records in South Korea from 2003 to 2017 and assessed the impact of unemployment rate and various statistical indicators (e.g. GDP and income inequality index) on the infanticide rate. A generalized additive model and quasi-Poisson regression were used for statistical analyses. Findings: A time-trend analysis shows that the infanticide rate tended to grow despite a decreasing trend in the total infant death rate. A 1% increase in the unemployment rate is associated with a significant rise in the relative risk of infanticide after a lag of two quarters. (RR [95% CI]: 1⋅66 [1⋅08-2⋅57]). RRs increased significantly after three and four quarters after 0⋅1 rise in the p80/p20 ratio (income inequality index) (1⋅08 [1⋅01-1⋅14], 1⋅07 [1⋅01-1⋅13], respectively). Interpretation: Policymakers should pay attention to these factors while formulating healthcare regulations to protect vulnerable infants and their parents, both of whom are victims of infanticide. Funding Statement: The authors state: None. Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: The data used in this study did not include any personal information. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Yonsei University Health System approved the current study design (IRB number: Y-2017-0100).

Divergent population trends following the cessation of legal grizzly bear hunting in southwestern British Columbia, Canada

We conducted DNA capture-recapture monitoring of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) from 5 to 17 years after hunting was stopped in two adjacent but genetically distinct populations in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. We used spatial capture-recapture and non-spatial Pradel robust design modelling to estimate population density, trends, and the demographic components of population change for each population. The larger population had 21.5 bears/1000 km2 and was growing (λPradel = 1.02 ± 0.02 SE; λsecr = 1.01 ± 4.6 × 10−5 SE) following the cessation of hunting. The adjacent smaller population had 6.3 bears/1000 km2 and was likely declining (λPradel = 0.95 ± 0.03 SE; λsecr = 0.98 ± 0.02 SE). Estimates of apparent survival and apparent recruitment indicated that lower recruitment was the dominant factor limiting population growth in the smaller population. Factors limiting reproductive rates and population density could include poor habitat quality, particularly the abundance of high-energy foods, genetic Allee effects due to a long period of population isolation, or demographic effects affecting infanticide rates. The cessation of hunting was insufficient to promote population recovery for the low density, isolated population. Our research highlights the importance of considering mortality thresholds in addition to small population effects and habitat quality when recovering large carnivore populations.

IMBALANCE IN CHINA'S SEX RATIO AT BIRTH: A REVIEW

AbstractFor decades, China's sex ratio at birth (SRB) has risen significantly. This trend was found in different provinces and between different parities. Three direct causes have led to the imbalanced SRB: underreporting of female births, which refers to girls who are alive but are hidden from the census count; high rates of female infanticide, which refers to the killing of female infants shortly after birth; and sex‐selective abortion, which refers to the selective abortion of female fetuses. In addition to these immediate causes, China's One‐Child Policy and the cultural preference for sons constitute underlying causes for the imbalanced SRB. Distortions in the SRB can have serious social and economic consequences, including the loss of potential population growth, a “marriage squeeze,” precipitated social instability, and an aging workforce. However, China can improve the status quo by taking appropriate measures such as relaxing fertility regulations and preventing sex‐selective abortions. Establishing a comprehensive pension system can help address the high SRB in the long run. However, a policy reversing the high SRB may have a negative effect on other demographic factors. China needs to find a way to reverse the SRB without harming other demographic indicators and has to do so soon.

Factors influencing within-group conflict over defence against conspecific outsiders seeking breeding positions.

In social species, groups face a variety of threats from conspecific outsiders. Defensive actions are therefore common, but there is considerable variation in which individuals contribute and to what extent. There has been some theoretical exploration of this variation when the defence is of shared resources, but the relative contributions when a single intruder threatens a particular breeding position have received less attention. Defensive actions are costly, both for the individual and dependent young, and contributions are likely to differ depending on individual sex, rank and size, current breeding stage, infanticide risk and relatedness levels. Here, we model analytically the relative fitness benefits of different group members to engaging in defence against individual intruders and determine when within-group conflicts of interest might arise over these defensive contributions. Conflicts of interest between the challenged breeder and other group members depend on relatedness to the brood and the potential relatedness reduction if an intruder acquires breeding status. Conflicts are more likely to occur when there is a low chance of winning the contest, low infanticide rates, inefficient defence from helpers, a long remaining brood-dependency period and high external (non-contest-related) mortality. Our work can help explain variation in defensive actions against out-group threats.

Global paediatric surgery: striving for equality

Global paediatric surgery: striving for equality

The Deletion of GPR40/FFAR1 Signaling Damages Maternal Care and Emotional Function in Female Mice.

The free fatty acid receptor 1 (GPR40/FFAR1) is activated by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as docosahexaenoic acids (DHA). This receptor has been the focus of many studies regarding physiological functions of the central nervous system. PUFAs are essential for neuronal development and maintenance of neuronal function; thus, the decrease of PUFAs in the brain is closely related to the induction of psychiatric diseases associated with emotional disorder, such as anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. However, details of the mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we investigated changes of maternal and/or emotional behavior caused by a deficiency of GPR40/FFAR1 signaling. GPR40/FFAR1 deficient (FFAR1-/-) female mice exhibited impaired maternal care such as retrieving behaviors and an increased rate of neglect and infanticide when compared to wild type (WT) female mice. Furthermore, FFAR1-/- female mice showed increased time spent in the open arms in an elevated plus maze test, reduction of locomotor activity and social interaction behavior, and decreased sucrose intake, when compared to WT female mice. In conclusion, these findings suggest that PUFAs-GPR40/FFAR1 signaling might function, at least in part, as a regulatory factor of emotional and maternal behavior in mice.

Kind to kin: weak interference competition among white storkCiconia ciconiabroodmates

Altricial nestlings in structured families show a diverse array of behavioural mechanisms to compete for food, ranging from signalling scrambles to aggressive interference. Rates of filial infanticide are moderately high in white storks. It has been hypothesized that this unusual behaviour is an adaptive parental response to the absence of efficient mechanisms of brood reduction (aggression or direct physical interference) by nestlings. To test this latter assumption, we analyzed video recordings of 41 complete feeding episodes at 32 broods during the first half of the nestling period, when nestlings complete 90% of growth and chick mortality and size asymmetries are highest. Parents delivered food to all nestlings simultaneously by regurgitating on the nest floor. No direct (bill to bill) feeding was recorded. Senior nestlings were never observed to limit their junior nestlings from eating food, either by aggression or physical interference. Experimental feeding tests revealed that heavier nestlings handled prey items more efficiently and ate food at a higher speed. The high degree of tolerance shown by senior nestlings is unusual among birds with similar ecological and phylogenetic affinities, such as herons. Tolerance by seniors cannot be easily explained by absence of parental favouritism or proximate factors known to affect the occurrence of sibling aggression in other species (rate of food transfer, brood size, hatching asynchrony or length of nestling period).

Gender Differences in Homicide of Neonates, Infants, and Children under 5 y in South Africa: Results from the Cross-Sectional 2009 National Child Homicide Study.

BackgroundHomicide of children is a global problem. The under-5-y age group is the second largest homicide age group after 15–19 y olds, but has received little research attention. Understanding age and gender patterns is important for assisting with developing prevention interventions. Here we present an age and gender analysis of homicides among children under 5 y in South Africa from a national study that included a focus on neonaticide and infanticide.Methods and FindingsA retrospective national cross-sectional study was conducted using a random sample of 38 medico-legal laboratories operating in 2009 to identify homicides of children under 5 y. Child data were abstracted from the mortuary files and autopsy reports, and both child and perpetrator data data were collected from police interviews. We erred towards applying a conservative definition of homicide and excluded sudden infant death syndrome cases. We estimated that 454 (95% CI 366, 541) children under the age of 5 y were killed in South Africa in 2009. More than half (53.2%; 95% CI 46.7%, 59.5%) were neonates (0–28 d), and 74.4% (95% CI 69.3%, 78.9%) were infants (under 1 y), giving a neonaticide rate of 19.6 per 100,000 live births and an infanticide rate of 28.4 per 100,000 live births. The majority of the neonates died in the early neonatal period (0–6 d), and abandonment accounted for 84.9% (95% CI 81.5%, 87.8%) of all the neonates killed. Distinct age and gender patterns were found, with significantly fewer boy children killed in rural settings compared to urban settings (odds ratio 0.6; 95% CI 0.4, 0.9; p = 0.015). Abuse-related killings and evidence of sexual assault were more common among older girls than in all other age and gender groups. Mothers were identified as the perpetrators in all of the neonaticides and were the most common perpetrators overall (71.0%; 95% CI 63.9%, 77.2%). Abandoned neonates were mainly term babies, with a mean gestational age of 38 wk. We did not have information on abandonment motives for all newborns and did not know if babies were abandoned with the intention that they would die or with the hope that they would be found alive. We therefore considered all abandoned babies as homicides.ConclusionsHomicide of children is an extreme form or consequence of violence against children. This national study provides one of the first analyses of neonaticide and infanticide by age and gender and shows the failure of reproductive and mental health and social services to identify and help vulnerable mothers. Multi-sectoral prevention strategies are needed.

Infant Mortality Risk and Paternity Certainty Are Associated with Postnatal Maternal Behavior toward Adult Male Mountain Gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei).

Sexually selected infanticide is an important source of infant mortality in many mammalian species. In species with long-term male-female associations, females may benefit from male protection against infanticidal outsiders. We tested whether mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) mothers in single and multi-male groups monitored by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund’s Karisoke Research Center actively facilitated interactions between their infants and a potentially protective male. We also evaluated the criteria mothers in multi-male groups used to choose a preferred male social partner. In single male groups, where infanticide risk and paternity certainty are high, females with infants <1 year old spent more time near and affiliated more with males than females without young infants. In multi-male groups, where infanticide rates and paternity certainty are lower, mothers with new infants exhibited few behavioral changes toward males. The sole notable change was that females with young infants proportionally increased their time near males they previously spent little time near when compared to males they had previously preferred, perhaps to encourage paternity uncertainty and deter aggression. Rank was a much better predictor of females’ social partner choice than paternity. Older infants (2–3 years) in multi-male groups mirrored their mothers’ preferences for individual male social partners; 89% spent the most time in close proximity to the male their mother had spent the most time near when they were <1 year old. Observed discrepancies between female behavior in single and multi-male groups likely reflect different levels of postpartum intersexual conflict; in groups where paternity certainty and infanticide risk are both high, male-female interests align and females behave accordingly. This highlights the importance of considering individual and group-level variation when evaluating intersexual conflict across the reproductive cycle.

Reproductive characteristics of the Yangtze vole (Microtus fortis calamorum) under laboratory feeding conditions

The reproductive characteristics of a laboratory population of the vole Microtus fortis calamorum were examined. Voles were allowed to breed under laboratory feeding conditions. Over a period of 3 months, 61.82% of the 110 vole pairs examined produced 3 or 4 litters. There were 1–9 voles in each litter and the mean litter size was 4.67±0.28 (mean±SE). Most litters included 3–7 young voles, accounting for 83.62% of all litters. The mean farrowing interval was 25.9 days (range from 19 to 95 days), and the most farrowing intervals were 20–25 days, accounting for 79.9% of the total. When based on litter size, the reproductive index was 6.23, but was 3.42 when based on pup survival. The survival rate of offspring to weaning was 55.03%. The high rate of infanticide that occurred after removal of males from cages indicates that, in the laboratory, both parents need to be present prior to weaning.

Comparing trends in infanticides in 28 countries, 1960–2009

The term ‘infanticide’ refers to the homicide of a child younger than one year old. In this article, we describe infanticide trends in 28 industrialized countries between 1960 and 2009. The analysis is based on the cause of death data from the WHO Mortality Database and national materials. The purpose is to compare those trends in all these 28 countries not to compare countries per se. Cause of death statistics are based on ICD classification. During the review period, ICD classification changed three times. In addition to describing infanticide trends, we will analyse the impact of those changes on statistical infanticide levels, to be sure that changes in trends could be seen as real, not statistical artefacts. According to our analysis, the change from ICD-7 to ICD-9 in 1968–1970 seems to have had some impact on registered infanticide mortality levels in three of the studied countries. In other countries, the changes did not have any general impact on registered infanticide levels. During the period, infanticide rates decreased in almost all European countries, and increased or were stable in most non-European industrialized countries. Even in Europe, there were significant differences in the decreasing trend between countries. We also found some structural variation behind the trend figures, which raised the question of whether the aggregated infanticide levels really describe an identical phenomenon in different countries.

Infanticide and illegal infant abandonment in Malaysia

Infant abandonment and infanticide are poorly understood in Malaysia. The information available in the public arena comes predominantly from anecdotal sources. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence and characteristics of infanticide and illegal infant abandonment in Malaysia and to estimate annual rates for the most recent decade. Summaries of data about infanticide and illegal infant abandonment were gathered from police records; the annual number of live births was ascertained from the national registry. The estimated inferred infanticide rates for Malaysia were compared with the infanticide rates among countries of very high, high, medium, and low rankings on the Human Development, Gender Inequality, and Gini indices. From 1999 to 2011, 1,069 cases of illegal infant abandonment were recorded and 1,147 people were arrested as suspected perpetrators. The estimated inferred infanticide rate fluctuated between 4.82 and 9.11 per 100,000 live births, a moderate rate relative to the infanticide rates of other countries. There are substantial missing data, with details undocumented for about 78–87% of cases and suspected perpetrators. Of the documented cases, it appeared that more boys than girls were victims and that suspected perpetrators were predominantly Malays who were women, usually mothers of the victim; the possibility of arrest bias must be acknowledged. Economic and social inequality, particularly gender inequality, might contribute to the phenomena of infanticide and abandonment. Strategies to reduce rates of infanticide and illegal infant abandonment in Malaysia will require strengthening of the surveillance system and attention to the gender-based inequalities that underpin human development.

Variance in the reproductive success of dominant male mountain gorillas.

Using 30 years of demographic data from 15 groups, this study estimates how harem size, female fertility, and offspring survival may contribute to variance in the siring rates of dominant male mountain gorillas throughout the Virunga Volcano Region. As predicted for polygynous species, differences in harem size were the greatest source of variance in the siring rate, whereas differences in female fertility and offspring survival were relatively minor. Harem size was positively correlated with offspring survival, even after removing all known and suspected cases of infanticide, so the correlation does not seem to reflect differences in the ability of males to protect their offspring. Harem size was not significantly correlated with female fertility, which is consistent with the hypothesis that mountain gorillas have minimal feeding competition. Harem size, offspring survival, and siring rates were not significantly correlated with the proportion of dominant tenures that occurred in multimale groups versus one-male groups; even though infanticide is less likely when those tenures end in multimale groups than one-male groups. In contrast with the relatively small contribution of offspring survival to variance in the siring rates of this study, offspring survival is a major source of variance in the male reproductive success of western gorillas, which have greater predation risks and significantly higher rates of infanticide. If differences in offspring protection are less important among male mountain gorillas than western gorillas, then the relative importance of other factors may be greater for mountain gorillas. Thus, our study illustrates how variance in male reproductive success and its components can differ between closely related species.