Continuing bonds and the posthumous child.
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| Title: | Continuing bonds and the posthumous child. |
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| Authors: | Leichtentritt, Ronit D. (AUTHOR), Mahat Shamir, Michal (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Death Studies. 2026, Vol. 50 Issue 5, p746-756. 11p. |
| Subjects: | Secondary analysis, Interviewing, Israelis, Family relations, Posthumous conception, Descriptive statistics, Bereavement, Research methodology, Memory, Phenomenology, Widowhood, Childbirth |
| Abstract: | The strategies that bereaved individuals use to establish an ongoing bond with the deceased have attracted considerable attention. However, the narratives of young widows pregnant at the time of their partner's death reveal unique strategies that have not yet received attention in the literature. This interpretive phenomenological research explores the strategies employed by 13 Israeli widows who lost their partners while pregnant. Continuing bond strategies were found to be associated with the trajectory of the posthumous child's life, beginning with the stages of pregnancy, childbirth, baby naming, and the child's resemblance to the deceased. The involvement of the newborn in the widows' post-death relationship with their deceased husband establishes a new sense of time—a relational one—in which they navigate between the past, present, and future, blurring boundaries and experiencing moments of stopped time. Implications are discussed in relation to the "replacement child" phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | The strategies that bereaved individuals use to establish an ongoing bond with the deceased have attracted considerable attention. However, the narratives of young widows pregnant at the time of their partner's death reveal unique strategies that have not yet received attention in the literature. This interpretive phenomenological research explores the strategies employed by 13 Israeli widows who lost their partners while pregnant. Continuing bond strategies were found to be associated with the trajectory of the posthumous child's life, beginning with the stages of pregnancy, childbirth, baby naming, and the child's resemblance to the deceased. The involvement of the newborn in the widows' post-death relationship with their deceased husband establishes a new sense of time—a relational one—in which they navigate between the past, present, and future, blurring boundaries and experiencing moments of stopped time. Implications are discussed in relation to the "replacement child" phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 07481187 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/07481187.2025.2454498 |
