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Complicating Mourning: The Social Economy of Perinatal Death

Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

In this article, the social economic practices related to perinatal death, based on Rando’s model of complicated mourning and on an analysis of interactions with social institutions identified in the literature as relevant to perinatal death, are examined. Data are reported from semistructured interviews with 22 individuals who lost children to perinatal death. Parents’ stories indicate that they were not provided with material social supports that normally would be provided to individuals in the case of a "real" birth or death. Family and community gestures, workplace measures, and medical and legal supports were either discouraged or actively withheld. This lack of financial and material support creates an informal social economy of perinatal death that conveys clear messages to parents regarding their rights and claims to support. It is evident that these practices contribute to feelings of non-legitimacy and to complicated mourning.

Qualitative Health Research, Vol. 9, No. 4, 504-519 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/104973299129122036


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