Resisting disenfranchized grief in the context of perinatal death: A qualitative study on the social labor of bereaved mothers

Perinatal death remains socially unevenly recognized, despite important changes in practice and culture. This qualitative study examines how bereaved mothers negotiate everyday (non)recognition across interactional settings. Using a grounded theorizing approach, we conducted in-depth interviews with 23 mothers in Québec and analyzed how expectations of recognition shape social action. We identify a threefold, explanatory typology of social labor: anticipatory (guarding against likely non-recognition), reactive (countering or eliciting recognition amid present non-recognition), and proactive (activating existing recognition or disclosing the loss absent mismatch). Non-labor occurred when perceived effort outweighed emotional capacity or the likelihood of a positive outcome (e.g., formal/administrative non-recognition, certain workplace and medical contexts). Rather than portraying parents as passive, our analysis complements existing literature by specifying the interactional mechanisms through which recognition is negotiated in daily life, while not presuming these efforts' efficacy or generalizability beyond the Québec context.