Mothers' bereavement and evolving relationships with their dead child in South Korea

Abstract Objective This study examined mothers' continuing relationships with their child lost to cancer in South Korea. Background Parents who lose a child to cancer experience a deep level of grief and a continuous, seemingly never‐ending grieving process. Method Fifteen semistructured interviews were conducted with mothers who had lost a child to cancer. Participants were recruited from a support group for bereaved parents. Most participants were currently unemployed, and the elapsed time since the child's death ranged from 8 months to 13 years. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted to identify themes. Results We identified three overlapping themes––regret, longing, and connectedness––and eight subthemes. One major source of regret was focusing too much on pursuing a curative treatment to prevent their child's death and forgetting to show their love toward their dying child. Mothers identified longing for their child as an inexplicably intense and ever‐present loss that will only end with their death, when they will be reunited with their child. Mothers continued to live and communicate with their deceased child, imagining how their child would have grown up if they were still alive. Conclusion Mothers who lost a child to cancer used continuing bonds to maintain their parental identity and relationship with the child. Maintaining bonds with deceased children can take various forms and affect coping in the parents' bereavement process. Implications Health professionals should support continuing bonds that may help parents construct meaning while simultaneously promoting improved adaptation to the death of a child to cancer in the grieving process.