Motherhood under moral rupture: Negotiating maternal legitimacy after an accidental child death under maternal care

This qualitative study examines how mothers negotiate maternal identity following the accidental death of a child under their care with perceived and/or attributed maternal responsibility. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 18 mothers who experienced such loss, the findings conceptualize motherhood as an ongoing process of moral negotiation shaped by responsibility, legitimacy, and loss. Three interrelated domains were identified: normalization practices that reframe the loss within a shared field of vulnerability; relational engagement with remaining children, through which maternal legitimacy is renegotiated; and the emergence of new life, where subsequent pregnancies and births introduce possibilities for both maternal reaffirmation and renewed destabilization. Across these domains, maternal identity is not restored but continuously negotiated under conditions of persistent self-doubt and social scrutiny. These processes are closely tied to psychological distress and efforts to sustain caregiving. The findings highlight the need for trauma-informed, non-blaming, and identity-sensitive approaches in supporting bereaved mothers.