Mother-loss: recreating relationship and meaning.
The purpose of this investigation was to describe adult women's experiences in losing their mother. Using an interpretive phenomenological frame of inquiry, 5 women were purposively selected to share their loss experience. Memories of the mother-daughter relationship were explored, and the meanings the daughters attached to their loss described, in written narratives, 2 in-depth interviews, and 1 group session. Seven themes emerged: Recalling, Holding On, Saying Goodbye, Longings of the Heart, Shifting Patterns of Relationship, Recreating the Dialogue, and Honouring Our Mothers/Ourselves. The loss of one's mother represents the loss of one's first intimate relationship, a relationship that has a unique meaning for daughters because their personal development is profoundly and uniquely shaped by it. This potentially pervasive and transforming life experience is best understood from an in-depth exploration and understanding of the nature of the mother-daughter relationship. Nurses who come to understand the dynamic interaction of grief and development through women's experience of mother-loss can more successfully offer their presence, their understanding of the complexity of the mother-daughter relationship, and their skills in bereavement care to facilitate healing and to promote health and personal growth.
Dietrich
P J
PJ
Faculty of Health Sciences-School of Nursing, University of Western Ontario, London.
McWilliam
C L
CL
Ralyea
S F
SF
Schweitzer
A T
AT
D000328:Adult; D001010:Anxiety, Separation / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D003643:Death; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008875:Middle Aged; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009679:Nuclear Family / Q000523:psychology*; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014930:Women / Q000523:psychology*