Intentional Parenting of Children Born After a Perinatal Loss

Abstract

This article addresses the notion of intentional parenting from the viewpoint of bereaved parents. Information comes from the authors' qualitative research with parents who experienced a perinatal loss. Parents provide a different perspective of intentionality: that of valuing their children's life as a gift and not taking their parenting responsibility lightly. Their descriptions of intentional behaviors, beginning in pregnancy, support the need for further research in the area of parenting after a loss.