Images of Women Who Kill Their Infants:

Criminal activity by women is often viewed as abnormal and as contradicting gender stereotypes. This is particularly so where the crime involves a mother killing her infant, and hence explanations are sought for the woman's crime which are rooted in pathology. This paper examines two predominant images of infanticidal women, the mad and the bad, and provides examples of each. The implications of these images for views of the causes of maternal infant-killing are then discussed.