Sorgens två ansikten

: En litteraturstudie om män och kvinnors sorg vid förlust av ett barn

Abstract

Background: To lose a child describes as the most painful loss that a human being can experience. The grief can be experienced individual depending on several factors such as culture and life experience. Being a man or woman is another factor that may influence the experience of grief. The nurse´s role is to support both parents in their role as mother and father. Aim: The aim was to describe men’s and women’s experiences of the loss of a child. Method: The study was made as a general literature review and based on nine qualitative original scientific articles that have been reviewed. Result: The study resulted in four main categories: Mourning expressions, Dealing with grief, Experiences of the relationship with the other parent and Experiences of the meaning of life. The result revealed differences in how men and women expressed and dealt with grief such as the women often felt alone in mourning and that men rather mourned in solitude. Similarities were also found when men and women in many cases expressed grief in a similar way. Conclusion: The understanding that the grief can be experienced differently depending on sex is an aspect, which should not be overlooked in the nursing work to help grieving parents. A nurse to have knowledge about grief, crisis and gender is of importance when meeting with bereaved parents.