ABSTRACT
A. Neonaticide is the deliberate killing of a newborn. The perpetrator is typically the mother with the cause of death usually either
asphyxia
or the effects of
abandonment,
e.g., exposure. B. In asphyxial deaths, the child is often placed in a plastic bag. Paper
or cloth may be stuffed down the mouth. The mother often claims that she did not know that she was pregnant and the child was stillborn. By virtue of the last claim, one of the most important facts to be determined by the pathologist is
whether the child was stillborn or born alive.
