infanticide /infan″tisīd/ [L, infans, unable to speak, caedere, to kill] , 1. the killing of an infant or young child. The act is usually a psychotic reaction and is often associated with severe depression, such as that occurring in bipolar disorder and occasionally in extreme postpartum disturbances. Infanticide may become a neurotic obsession among mothers who do not want the baby or who do not feel physically, mentally, or emotionally capable of caring for or coping with the infant. 2. one who takes the life of an infant or young child. −infanticidal, adj.
