In 1741, a reform abolished the Public humiliation punishment of Uppenbar kyrkoplikt for unmarried mothers to prevent infanticide,Ohlander, Ann-Sofie, Kärlek, död och frihet: historiska uppsatser om människovärde och livsvillkor i Sverige, Norstedt, Stockholm, 1985 and in 1778, the Infanticide Act (Sweden) was introduced: in order to spare unmarried mothers from the social stigma which was the common motive for them to kill their infants, mothers were allowed to travel to a place where they were unknown by the community and give birth anonymously, midwives were forbidden to expose their identity, and should they decide to keep their child, their unmarried status was to be hidden by the authorities to spare them social embarrassment.Lindstedt Cronberg, Marie, 'Barnamordsplakatet: en straffrättsreform med oanade konsekvenser', Brottsförebyggande rådets tidskrift Apropå., 1994:1, s. 24-29, 1994
