{"title":"Embodied existence: Description and meaning of memorial tattoos in mothers experiencing perinatal and neonatal loss.","authors":"Olga Herrero, Raquel Putin, Sergi Corbella","doi":"10.1080/07481187.2025.2476964","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Grieving the loss of a pregnancy or a newborn involves deep and complex pain and entails certain particularities that make it different from other forms of grief. This study explores the role of memorial tattoos in the grieving process of mothers who have experienced perinatal and neonatal loss within the context of Spanish culture. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, testimonies were collected from 108 grieving mothers and analyzed through content analysis. Tattoo descriptions revealed three categories: Transcendent, Earthly and Eternal. Regarding meaning, six categories were identified: Visibilizing, Caressing the Memory, Creating a Sense of Permanence, Keeping the Baby Close, Drawing the Process and Searching for Meaning in Transcendence. Similarities with previous studies are discussed, and new categories are offered to deepen understanding of grief among these mothers. All categories converge on the idea of an Embodied Existence. Through touch, the tattoo provides comfort, symbolizing a lasting bond with the child.</p>","PeriodicalId":11041,"journal":{"name":"Death Studies","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Death Studies","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2025.2476964","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Grieving the loss of a pregnancy or a newborn involves deep and complex pain and entails certain particularities that make it different from other forms of grief. This study explores the role of memorial tattoos in the grieving process of mothers who have experienced perinatal and neonatal loss within the context of Spanish culture. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, testimonies were collected from 108 grieving mothers and analyzed through content analysis. Tattoo descriptions revealed three categories: Transcendent, Earthly and Eternal. Regarding meaning, six categories were identified: Visibilizing, Caressing the Memory, Creating a Sense of Permanence, Keeping the Baby Close, Drawing the Process and Searching for Meaning in Transcendence. Similarities with previous studies are discussed, and new categories are offered to deepen understanding of grief among these mothers. All categories converge on the idea of an Embodied Existence. Through touch, the tattoo provides comfort, symbolizing a lasting bond with the child.
期刊介绍：
Now published ten times each year, this acclaimed journal provides refereed papers on significant research, scholarship, and practical approaches in the fast growing areas of bereavement and loss, grief therapy, death attitudes, suicide, and death education. It provides an international interdisciplinary forum in which a variety of professionals share results of research and practice, with the aim of better understanding the human encounter with death and assisting those who work with the dying and their families.
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