2025/09/16 by Aijaz Ahmed, Rahat Jabeen
Health Professions · Psychology · #Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health #Homelessness and Social Issues #Migration, Health and Trauma
paper · doi:10.1177/00302228251378175
crossref issued 2025/09/16 · crossref published 2025/09/16 · crossref published-online 2025/09/16 · openalex publication_date 2025/09/16 · crossref created 2025/09/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2026/05/01 · crossref indexed 2026/07/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
This study adopts a Husserl's phenomenological approach to explore the lived experiences of bereaved mothers in District Doda, India. In a patriarchal society where women bear primary child-rearing responsibilities, mothers experience a compounded burden of grief after neonatal loss. The study highlights their emotional and psychological struggles, as well as systemic and cultural challenges. Using Lazarus and Folkman's stress and coping theory and Braun & Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis, in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 purposively selected mothers. Six key themes emerged: emotional and psychological impact, health-related behavioural changes, healthcare barriers, gender struggles and lack of support, social and cultural stigma, and coping and resilience. Despite the pain, mothers demonstrated resilience rooted in faith, interpersonal bonds, and emotional adjustment. The study calls for urgent social and mental health support, healthcare reforms, and culturally sensitive interventions to support grieving mothers in rural areas and reframe how maternal bereavement is addressed in policy and practice.