Nesca Marc, Dalby J Thomas
Athabasca University, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2011 Oct;55(7):1166-78. doi: 10.1177/0306624X10376204. Epub 2010 Jul 12.
Recent work has documented the relatively high incidence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms in women during the birth delivery process and afterwards, even in uncomplicated births. This phenomenon, however, has yet to be linked with cases of neonaticide (child homicide in the first 24 hr of life) or infanticide (child homicide within the 1st year of life). Women are more likely to experience mental disorder after childbirth than at any other time in their lives, and the intentional killing of an offspring by a mentally ill mother is likely underreported. The immediate postpartum period is a time of heightened vigilance by health providers and, when the tragic death of an infant occurs, forensic professionals should specifically assess for PTSD. As an illustration, the authors present a case of maternal neonaticide that was directly linked to PTSD without any other concomitant mental disorder. PTSD is a viable mitigating factor to be examined in legal defenses of infanticide either in isolation or in conjunction with other factors.
最近的研究记录了女性在分娩过程中及之后创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）症状的发生率相对较高，即使是顺产。然而，这一现象尚未与杀婴（出生后24小时内的儿童 homicide）或 杀童（1岁内的儿童 homicide）案例联系起来。女性产后比一生中的任何其他时候更容易患精神障碍，而且患有精神疾病的母亲故意杀害后代的情况可能报告不足。产后即刻是医疗服务人员高度警惕的时期，当婴儿发生悲剧性死亡时，法医专业人员应特别评估是否患有创伤后应激障碍。作为一个例子，作者展示了一个与创伤后应激障碍直接相关的母亲杀婴案例，没有任何其他并发精神障碍。创伤后应激障碍是一个可行的减轻因素，可在杀婴的法律辩护中单独或与其他因素一起进行审查。
