Twice-yearly testing as part of woman’s sentence for killing newborn is being described as first decision of its kind 
 
 A Canadian woman who pleaded guilty to killing her newborn baby will have to take a pregnancy test twice a year as part of her sentence, in what is being described as the first decision of its kind in Canada. The 43-year-old Montreal woman, who cannot be named, pleaded guilty to one charge of infanticide last November after giving birth at home in July 2016 without knowing she was pregnant. The baby was found in a plastic bag, still alive and with head wounds, which appeared to have been inflicted with scissors. At the Montreal courthouse on Thursday, the woman was sentenced to 20 months of house arrest followed by three years of probation. The judge also ordered the woman to submit the results of her pregnancy tests to her supervising officer while under house arrest and then to her probation officers for three years. That doesn’t mean I’m selfish | Arwa Mahdawi Read more 
 
 The case marked the second time in recent years that the woman had failed to realise she was pregnant. The first time she found out she was 32 weeks pregnant after an injury forced her to visit a hospital, according to the Montreal Gazette. 'No more denial of pregnancy' 
 
 La Leggia said the woman would honour the conditions of her sentence to avoid another surprise pregnancy. “I think it was more wanted than necessary,” La Leggia said about the order. (Radio-Canada) 
 
 In her ruling, Despots cited the woman's probation officer, who said this was an isolated case, involving a mentally fragile person. In this particular case, I think all the circumstances called for it and my client accepted it.” 
 
 Despots said the woman received a diagnosis of “non-psychotic denial of pregnancy” and dissociative amnesia when taken to a hospital in July 2016. Quebec's youth protection service, known by its French acronym DPJ, described the woman as an excellent mother and said she doesn't represent a risk to her three children, according to a report read out in court by the prosecutor during sentencing arguments. “The accused is described as a gentle, patient and responsible mother,” said judge Linda Despots. “Despite the amnesia, she feels a strong sense of guilt. She expresses great suffering and describes the situation as a tragedy.” 
 
 The woman was initially charged with second-degree murder, but the Crown reduced the charge to infanticide after analyzing the criteria. Per Canada’s Criminal Code, a woman can be charged with infanticide when she causes the death of her newly born child at a time when she is “not fully recovered from the effects of giving birth to the child” and “her mind is then disturbed.” 
 
 The maximum sentence for the charge is a five-year prison term. “She’s doing a lot better today,” he said.
– A Canadian woman who pleaded guilty to killing her newborn after an unrecognized pregnancy has been handed what's believed to be the first decision of its kind in Canada: The 43-year-old woman must take a pregnancy test every six months for the next five years and submit the results to authorities, a Montreal court ruled Thursday, per the Guardian. The move comes after the woman gave birth unexpectedly at her home in July 2016. The newborn, the woman's fourth child, was found in a plastic bag with head wounds apparently inflicted with scissors and died from the effects of asphyxiation days later at a hospital, reports the CBC. The mother, whose name has not been released, was diagnosed with non-psychotic pregnancy denial and dissociative amnesia. It was the second time she had failed to recognize she was pregnant, though in the other case she was alerted to the pregnancy during an unrelated hospital visit at 32 weeks and there was no harm done to the resulting child, reports the Montreal Gazette. If she gets pregnant again, her sentence means "there will be no more denial of pregnancy as there was the last time," her lawyer, Joseph La Leggia, tells the CBC. He tells the Gazette his client is voluntarily taking pregnancy tests each month. The sentence will also see the woman serve 20 months of house arrest and three years of probation for infanticide. Quebec's youth protection service previously found the woman was an excellent mother who posed no risk to her other children. (A mother of three had amnesia for a decade.)