90

Mothers who murder their newborns remain an enigma. Many highly different situations are lumped together. Clinical research on infanticide and the follow-up of these women show that neonaticides are committed at a specific time in their psychic life. This paper discusses the psychic processes at work in the murder of newborns It first reviews existing knowledge about neonaticides. Then, it describes the different types of neonaticides recorded, before discussing the psychic processes behind such acts. Our knowledge on murders of newborn children comes from research on infants’ suspicious deaths and also the authors’ experience as emergency psychologists treating women at home in crisis situations. Lastly, this paper presents the authors’—who are specialists in psychotrauma—interpretations of these women in an attempt to explain these passages to the act.