‘Shoring up the walls of heartache’

There is considerable debate about the relationship between a child’s death and marital breakdown (Rando 1991). Many studies offer evidence of increased communication problems, emotional isolation and mutual frustration between partners. Researchers relate this increase in marital tension directly to differences in grieving patterns between partners (Schwab 1992, Littlewood et al. 1991). Studies also acknowledge cases in which partners report that their relationship has been strengthened.