Review Article
Year : 2019 | Volume : 4 | Issue : 1 | Page :11 - 13
Neonatal Line: A Valuable Evidence to Prove Female Infanticide
Sadhana Kandavel, M Anita, U Vidhya Rekha, Tamara Mystica, KJ Swetha
From the Departments of Public Health Dentistry, Sree Balaji Dental College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Address for correspondence:
Dr. Sadhana Kandavel, E‐mail: sadhanakandavel@gmail.com
Abstract
Female infanticide is a widespread social problem in India. Majority of the cases of infanticide goes unreported, as there is a lack of proper evidence. It is very essential to distinguish live birth from stillbirth, to prove a case of infanticide. However, by the time, the mortal remains of the child are available for forensic examination, the body is decayed and putrefied; hence, soft-tissue evidence is lost. Although the chronological age of the child can be estimated by skeletal parameters, they cannot differentiate live birth and stillbirth. Thus, in such cases, the neonatal line is a valuable tool to prove female infanticide.
Key Words: Female infanticide, forensic odontology, live birth, neonaticide neonatal line, stillbirth
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
How to cite this article:
Kandavel S, Anita M, Rekha UV, Mystica T, Swetha KJ. Neonatal line: A valuable evidence to prove female infanticide. Int J Forensic Odontol 2019;4:11-3.
