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Stillbirth and Loss: Family Practices and Display

Author

Listed:
  • Samantha Murphy
  • Hilary Thomas

Abstract

This paper explores how parents respond to their memories of their stillborn child over the years following their loss. When people die after living for several years or more, their family and friends have the residual traces of a life lived as a basis for an identity that may be remembered over a sustained period of time. For the parent of a stillborn child there is no such basis and the claim for a continuing social identity for their son or daughter is precarious. Drawing on interviews with the parents of 22 stillborn children, this paper explores the identity work performed by parents concerned to create a lasting and meaningful identity for their child and to include him or her in their families after death. The paper draws on Finch's (2007) concept of family display and Walter's (1999) thesis that links continue to exist between the living and the dead over a continued period. The paper argues that evidence from the experience of stillbirth suggests that there is scope for development for both theoretical frameworks.

Suggested Citation

  • Samantha Murphy & Hilary Thomas, 2013. "Stillbirth and Loss: Family Practices and Display," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 18(1), pages 27-37, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socres:v:18:y:2013:i:1:p:27-37
    DOI: 10.5153/sro.2889
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Deborah Davidson, 2011. "Reflections on Doing Research Grounded in My Experience of Perinatal Loss: From Auto/biography to Autoethnography," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 16(1), pages 1-8, February.
    2. Lovell, Alice, 1983. "Some questions of identity: Late miscarriage, stillbirth and perinatal loss," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 17(11), pages 755-761, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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