Trends of infanticides in northern Tunisia: A 40 years study (1977-2016)
| Autor: | Moncef Hamdoun, M. Zhioua, Ons Hmandi, Ilhem Boukthir, Mehdi Ben Khelil |
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| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Male
050103 clinical psychology medicine.medical_specialty Tunisia Penal code Infanticide Mothers Autopsy North africa Neonaticide Epidemiology Developmental and Educational Psychology medicine Prevalence Humans 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Developing Countries Histological examination Retrospective Studies business.industry 05 social sciences Medical jurisprudence Infant Newborn Retrospective cohort study Psychiatry and Mental health Pediatrics Perinatology and Child Health Female business 050104 developmental & child psychology Demography |
| Zdroj: | Child abuseneglect. 95 |
| ISSN: | 1873-7757 |
| Popis: | Background The Tunisian Penal Code defines infanticide as the murder committed by the mother on her child at birth or immediately after. There is a dearth of studies and official statistics on infanticide in the Arab region and North Africa. Objective to analyze the infanticide trends in northern Tunisia between 1977 and 2016. Participants and setting we included all cases of infanticides autopsied at the Legal Medicine Department of Charles Nicolle Hospital in Tunis, over a period of 40 years (1977–2016). Methods A descriptive retrospective study. Results We collected a total of 513 cases of infanticide over the study period. The general prevalence of infanticide was 0.42 per 100,000 live births per year. Infanticide often occurred during the week, in winter (31.5%) and in spring (30.9%). The newborn was often found on public roads (40.9%) and in urban areas (81.4%). The newborn was often full-term (73.6%), mature, without any congenital malformation, found completely naked (75.2%) and with an empty stomach (93.7%). The umbilical cord was often cut (71.5%), not ligated (82%) with an irregular edge (64%). There was often no putrefaction (54.4%). The hydrostatic test (81.8%) and histological examination (81.1%) showed that infants had breathed. Neglect was the most common cause of death (49.9%). Conclusion Northern Tunisia has a low prevalence of infanticide compared to most of the previous European and American studies. A better understanding of infanticide would allow us to adapt measures of prevention. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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