A Forensic Autopsy Study of Dead Foetuses and Newborns

Background: The term abandonment refers to babies or foetuses which are found abandoned at various unwanted places such as gutter, rubbish dumps, railway tracts and bushes. It does not refer to live born babies left in places, such as hospitals where care can be given by someone other than the mother. Aims and Objectives: To find out the distribution of death cases of newborns/feotuses and to trace its probable reason and its relationship with female foeticide.Methods:A retrospective study of all the medico-legal autopsies of foetuses and newborns was conducted in Forensic medicine and Toxicology department, Government Medical College, Amritsar (Punjab) from Jan 1, 2014 to Jul 31, 2021. During this period, 46 cases of fetal and newborn deaths had been studied.Results:The dead bodies of known foetuses/newborns is 43.5% cases while total unknown cases were 56.5% cases. 32.6% cases were non viable foetuses while 10.8% cases died as a result of prematurity. All the unknown cases (56.5%) were found from the abandoned places like street, bushes, canal side, water bodies that mainly includes pond and railway tract.Conclusion:Despite, the problem is present in every corner of the nation, there is dearth of research studies on this issue. Stringent measures and strict checks are required against antenatal sex determination. The motive behind the abandonment of foetuses can be any, but this grave issue needs urgent attention.