The difficulties of parenting when widowed: A qualitative study of the lived experience

Partner loss is considered one of the most stressful events in a person's life. Complicating this for young widows with children is the distress of witnessing the grief of their children. Widows must navigate managing their and their children's grief. This existential phenomenological study seeks to understand the experience of young widows in the parenting of their children after the death of their partner. Qualitative findings from 19 women indicated three themes: a) Widowed parents wrestled with an agonizing dilemma-how to deliver the dreaded news of their partner's death to their children; b) widows realized the weight of their grief and loss had impacted their capacity to parent c) widowed mothers navigated the complex and often conflicting dynamics of parenting children who were profoundly changed by loss. These findings highlight the need for further study, education, and support for families impacted by the death of a parent and partner.