Abstract
Background: There is no commonly used English word to describe a parent whose child is deceased. A child who has no parents is an orphan and a person who has lost a spouse is a widow(er). Absence of terminology to describe parents after the death of a child may contribute to difficulty in adapting to a new identity and alter societal expectations for grieving. Vilomah, a word borrowed from the Sanskrit language meaning "against the natural order," has emerged in non-nursing literature to describe a parent whose child has died. It is derived from the concept that parents should outlive their children, carrying with it the lifelong emotions that occur when life order is disrupted.
Method: A scoping review served as a preliminary assessment of the nature of scholarly works related to the use of the word vilomah. An exhaustive search of multidisciplinary databases included nursing, medicine, sociology, behavioral science, family studies, women’s issues, health consumer resources, psychology, religion, the arts, and linguistics/communications, yielded 5 non-healthcare publications and 1 NPR interview.
Results: Vilomah appeared in Christian, Mortality, and Communication journals, Duke Today, and 1 master’s thesis describing a film project titled Vilomah - a horror film about a child's death. There was no evidence that the term vilomah was incorporated into any structured research, healthcare intervention, or measures that addressed well-being of parents who have lost a child.
Conclusions: Parents are profoundly impacted by the death of their offspring regardless of the age, gender, or pre-death health status of the child. Long-lasting symptoms with persistent feelings of deep emptiness are compounded by the lack of a descriptive term that personifies a new identity.
The results of this scoping review support the need for greater infusion of the term vilomah into the English language. Integration and application of this descriptor when caring for grieving families may facilitate targeted bereavement interventions for parents whose child has died. Plans for future research will begin with qualitative studies that explore acceptance of the term by those who, by the definition presented here, are vilomahs. Development of evidence based interventions and quantitative measurement tools for use by healthcare providers will follow to evaluate the impact of using the term vilomah in supporting a bereaved parent struggling to assume a new identity.
Notes
References:
Barney, KA., & Yoshimura, SM. (2020). Death-Related Grief and Disenfranchised Identity: A Communication Approach. Review of Communication Research, 2020(8), Open Access, ISSN 2255-4165. https://doi.org/10.12840/ISSN.2255-4165.024
Cole, J. (2000). Parental Bereavement: An Investigation of the Short-term and Long-term Effects. Dissertation Abstracts International Section B: Physical Sciences & Engineering. Dec2000, 61(6), 3272-3272. 97p. ISSN: 0419-4217
Fletcher, K. (2022). African American funeral directors as culture keepers: an
interview with Karla Holloway. Mortality. 27(4), 493–499. https://doi.org/10.1080/13576275.2021.2010346
Grant, LC. (2022). Orphan, widow, vilomah. Christian Century, February 9, 10-11.
Holloway, K. (2009). A Name for a Parent Whose Child Has Died. Duke Today, May 26, 2009 [Seminal Article] https://today.duke.edu/2009/05/holloway_oped.html
Lehmann, OV., Kalstad, TG., & Neimeyer, RA. (2024). Experiences of Fathers in Norway Attending an Online Course on Therapeutic Writing After the Death of a Child. Qualitative Health Research, 34(5), 458-472. https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323231216099
Pelacho Rios, L., & Bernabe Valero, G. (2023). The loss of a child, bereavement and the search for meaning: A systematic review of the most recent parental interventions. Current Psychology, 42, 25931-25956. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03703-w
Safa, A., Adib Hajbaghery, M., & Rezaei, M. (2022). Support Received and Provided by Older Adults who Lost a Child: A Qualitative Content Analysis. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 27(5), 432-438. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijnmr.ijnmr_274_21
Sigma Membership
Beta Beta (Houston)
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Hospice, Palliative, or End-of-Life, Interprofessional Initiatives, Public and Community Health, Grief, Grieving, Loss of a Child
Recommended Citation
Cesario, Sandra K., "There are No Words: What Do You Call a Parent Who Has Lost a Child" (2025). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 116.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2025/posters_2025/116
Conference Name
36th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
There are No Words: What Do You Call a Parent Who Has Lost a Child
Seattle, Washington, USA
Background: There is no commonly used English word to describe a parent whose child is deceased. A child who has no parents is an orphan and a person who has lost a spouse is a widow(er). Absence of terminology to describe parents after the death of a child may contribute to difficulty in adapting to a new identity and alter societal expectations for grieving. Vilomah, a word borrowed from the Sanskrit language meaning "against the natural order," has emerged in non-nursing literature to describe a parent whose child has died. It is derived from the concept that parents should outlive their children, carrying with it the lifelong emotions that occur when life order is disrupted.
Method: A scoping review served as a preliminary assessment of the nature of scholarly works related to the use of the word vilomah. An exhaustive search of multidisciplinary databases included nursing, medicine, sociology, behavioral science, family studies, women’s issues, health consumer resources, psychology, religion, the arts, and linguistics/communications, yielded 5 non-healthcare publications and 1 NPR interview.
Results: Vilomah appeared in Christian, Mortality, and Communication journals, Duke Today, and 1 master’s thesis describing a film project titled Vilomah - a horror film about a child's death. There was no evidence that the term vilomah was incorporated into any structured research, healthcare intervention, or measures that addressed well-being of parents who have lost a child.
Conclusions: Parents are profoundly impacted by the death of their offspring regardless of the age, gender, or pre-death health status of the child. Long-lasting symptoms with persistent feelings of deep emptiness are compounded by the lack of a descriptive term that personifies a new identity.
The results of this scoping review support the need for greater infusion of the term vilomah into the English language. Integration and application of this descriptor when caring for grieving families may facilitate targeted bereavement interventions for parents whose child has died. Plans for future research will begin with qualitative studies that explore acceptance of the term by those who, by the definition presented here, are vilomahs. Development of evidence based interventions and quantitative measurement tools for use by healthcare providers will follow to evaluate the impact of using the term vilomah in supporting a bereaved parent struggling to assume a new identity.
Description
There is no commonly used English word to describe a parent whose child is deceased, potentially contributing to difficulty in adapting to a new identity and grieving. Vilomah, a Sanskrit word meaning "against the natural order," has emerged in non-nursing literature to describe these parents. A scoping review of multidisciplinary databases yielded no health related references and supports the need for investigation regarding the usefulness and acceptance of this term in health care settings.