The impact of a child's death on the marital relationship of the parents

The scope of this qualitative study was to understand the experience of the couple who lost a child stricken by cancer, focusing on the impact of death on the marital relationship. The methodological strategy used in this paper was the case study, seeking to describe the process of elaboration of mourning and the impact of the son's death on the parents' marital relationship. The couple who participated in the study had been together for 39 years and had lost their youngest son three years earlier. The spouses were interviewed individually and then together. Semi-structured interview scripts were used for this purpose. It was established that the religious community to which the couple belongs has been the main source of support in dealing with the mourning process, although its precepts may prevent the free expression of their suffering, particularly in the wife's case. Although the couple has remained together, the marital relationship was shaken after their son's death. The couple had difficulty in talking about their marriage, though the wife pointed to the absence of their son as one of the reasons for the change in their marital relationship. The marital relationship and religiosity/spirituality emerged as important dimensions to be addressed by health staff in attending bereaved families.