This study has implications for prevention in terms of contraception and appropriate targeting of vulnerable women. It encourages the development of case-control studies on maternal risk factors within the framework of the French birth cohort currently being established.

The term 'denial of pregnancy' cannot fully reflect the complexity of emotions and feelings felt by all perpetrators of neonaticide and is used differently by different professionals. The term itself and its excessive generalization contribute to pathologizing women while absolving those around them and has little operational value in preventing neonaticides. The authors suggest rethinking the terms presently used to describe the phenomenon of pregnancy denial.