Content Analysis of Neonaticide and Infanticide Cases Across the U.S.

• In Event: Poster Session 1

Abstract

Recent shifts in federal and state reproductive law have necessitated an updated criminological examination of the contexts surrounding females' maladaptive responses to pregnancy and childbirth. The current study aims to build upon the discourse centered on women and girls’ complex experiences with pregnancy as well as the conditions that precede negative outcomes like neonaticide and infanticide. This study conducts a content analysis by utilizing a mixed-methods approach to investigate important risk factors associated with neonaticide and infanticide as well as identify reoccurring themes, such as denial of pregnancy and pregnancy concealment. The study samples from online U.S. news media sources as well as state and local public arrest files published between 1999-2024 of attempted or completed neonaticide and infanticide committed by women and girls aged 25 and below. Charges of interest include those either directly or adjacently related to neonaticide or infanticide including but not limited to unlawful abortion, homicide, mutilation of a corpse, evidence tampering, child abandonment, child endangerment, concealment of a crime, and failure to report a death. Findings from this study may highlight the concerns surrounding maladaptive responses in women and girls who more frequently face conditions that expose them to increased likelihoods of pregnancy and childbirth.

Author

• Madeline Barker, Temple University