Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Perspectives on the Experience of Sudden, Unexpected Child Death pp 31–75Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Death in an Era of Inquiry

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 306 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter sets the sociopolitical setting in which sudden, unexpected child deaths occur. Beginning with a discussion of relevant literature on safeguarding, the chapter considers the ‘emotional politics’ which surround high-profile child deaths, as well as the media coverage and inquiries which are often established as a consequence. Building from this, the chapter moves to a consideration of the literature on death and dying, including current debates on assisted dying and good death, together with the online practices which are currently transforming the field. Drawing from this literature, the chapter takes a psychosocial perspective to argue that child deaths may be inaccessible to thought in a Western culture dominated by scientific progression and a concomitant narrative that death is somehow a failure.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ahmed, S. (2004). The cultural politics of emotion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Association of Chief Police Officers. (2002). Guidelines for the investigation of infant deaths. London: ACPO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, J. (2014). Levels of life. London: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Batt, J. (2004). Stolen innocence. London: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bion, W. R. (1962). A theory of thinking. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 43. Reprinted in Second Thoughts (1967).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonanno, G. A., & Kaltman, S. (1999). Towards an integrative perspective on bereavement. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 760–776.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brandon, M., & Thoburn, J. (2008). Safeguarding children in the UK: A longitudinal study of services to children suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Child and Family Social Work, 13(4), 365–377.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cannings, A. (2006). Against all odds. London: Time Warner Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chalmers, A. (2007). A family’s journey. In P. Sidebotham & P. Fleming (Eds.), Unexpected death in childhood (pp. 3–9). London: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clack, B. (2013). Against the pursuit of the snazzy life: A feminist theology of failure and loss. Feminist Theology, 22(1), 4–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, V. (1998). Death education in the U.K. Journal of Moral Education, 27(3), 393–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, S., & Hoggett, P. (2009). Researching beneath the surface. London: Karnac Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cleaver, H., & Freeman, P. (1996). Parental perspectives in cases of suspected child abuse. Bristol: University of Bristol, Dartington Social Research Unit.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S. (1972). Folk devils and moral panics. London: MacGibbon and Key.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, A. (2014). A short psychosocial history of British child abuse and protection: Case studies in problems of mourning in the public sphere. Journal of Social Work Practice, 28(3), 271–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, A., & Lousada, J. (2005). Borderline welfare, feeling and fear of feeling in modern welfare. London: Karnac Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corner, J., & Dunlop, R. (1999). New approaches and care. In D. Clark, J. Hockley, & S. Ahmedzai (Eds.), New themes in palliative care (pp. 285–300). Buckingham: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dale, P. (2004). Like a fish in a bowl: Parents’ perceptions of child protection services. Child Abuse Review, 13, 137–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, P. (2010). The impact of a child protection investigation: A personal reflective account. Child and Family Social Work, 16(2), 201–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delahunty, J., Purkiss, K., & McWatters, C. (2012). LB of Islington v Al Alas & Wray, EWHC 865 (Fam) Family Law Week. Available at www.familylawweek.co.uk. Accessed 10 June 13.

  • Dent, A., & Stewart, A. (2004). Sudden death in childhood: Support for the bereaved family. London: Butterworth-Heinemann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Health. (1991). The children act: Guidance and regulations. London: HM Stationery Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Education. (2004). The Munro review of child protection. Final Report. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/175391/Munro-Review.pdf Final Report. Accessed June 2017.

  • Dyregrov, K. (2004a). Bereaved parents’ experience of research participation. Social Science and Medicine, 58(2), 391–400.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dyregrov, K. (2004b). Strategies of professional assistance after traumatic deaths: Empowerment or disempowerment? Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 45(2), 181–189.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, H. (2011). Child protection practice. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fox, J. (2007). Police investigation in unexpected childhood deaths. In P. Sidebotham & P. Fleming (Eds.), Unexpected death in childhood (pp. 132–153). London: John Wiley & Sons.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Gaber, I. (2011). Child abuse: The media must listen. British Journalism Review, 22(3), 57–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gallagher and Roxby. (2015). Assisted dying bill: MPs reject ‘right to die’ law. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-. Accessed June 2017.

  • Garstang, J., & Sidebotham, P. (2008). Interagency training: Establishing a course in the management of unexpected childhood death. Child Abuse Review, 17, 352–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garstang, J., Griffiths, F., & Sidebotham, P. (2017). Rigour and rapport: A qualitative study of parents’ and professionals’ experiences of Joint Agency infant death investigation. BMC Pediatrics, 17, 48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gawande, A. (2014). Being mortal: Medicine and what happens in the end. London: Profile Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geiser, R. (1990). When a mother kills her child. Art Therapy, 7(2), 86–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghaffar, W., Manby, M., & Race, T. (2012). Exploring the experiences of parents and carers whose children have been subject to child protection plans. British Journal of Social Work, 42, 887–905.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self identity. Oxford: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harman, W. (1981). Death of my baby. BM J, 282, 35–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herland, M., & Helgeland, I. M. (2014). Negotiating motherhood: Women with troubled upbringings and their self conceptions as mothers. Child and Family Social Work, 22(1), 47–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoggett, P. (2000). Emotional life and the politics of welfare. London: Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, R. (2014). The story of baby P: Setting the record straight. Bristol: Policy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasket, E. (2012). Editorial. Bereavement Care, 31(2), 39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kellehear, A. (2007). A social history of dying. In S. Earle, C. Komaromy, & C. Batholemew (Eds.), Death and dying (pp. 61–84). Cambridge, UK: A Reader, Open University

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy Report is Royal College of Pathologists and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPath & RCPCH). (2004a). Sudden unexpected death in infancy: A multi agency protocol for care and investigation. London: Royal College of Pathologists : Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klass, D. (1996). The deceased child in the psychic and social worlds of bereaved parents, during the resolution of grief. In D. Klass, P. Silverman, & S. Nickman (Eds.), Continuing bonds, new understandings of grief (pp. 199–215). Washington, DC: Taylor and Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Komulainan, S., & Haines, L. (2009). Understanding parent’s information needs and experiences where professional concerns regarding non-accidental injury were not substantiated. London: Department for Children and Families Research Brief.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kübler-Ross, E. (1969). On death and dying. New York: Touchstone.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leader, D. (2009). The new black, mourning, melancholia and depression. London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lees, A., Meyer, E., & Rafferty, J. (2013). From Menzies Lyth to Munro: The problem of managerialism. British Journal of Social Work, 43(3), 542–558.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mellor, P., & Shilling, S. (1993). Modernity, self-identity and the sequestration of death. Sociology, 27(3), 411–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menzies Lyth, I. (1960). Social systems as a defence against anxiety. Human Relations, 13, 95–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merz, T. (2013). LivesOn review: Can twitter make you immortal? The Telegraph. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-app-reviews/LivesOn-review-can-Twitter-make-you-immortal.html. Accessed June 2017.

  • Mitchell, L., Stephenson, P., Cadell, S., & MacDonald, M. (2012). Death and grief on-line: Virtual memorialization and changing concepts of childhood death and parental bereavement on the internet. Health Sociology Review, 21(4), 413–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munro, E. (2004). The impact of audit on social work practice. British Journal of Social Work, 34(8), 1075–1095.

    Google Scholar 

  • Munro, E. (2011). The Munro review of child protection. Final Report. Available at: www.education.gov.uk/munroreview. Accessed June 2017.

  • Neimeyer, R. (2000). Searching for the meaning of meaning: Grief therapy and process of reconstruction. Death Studies, 24(6), 541–558.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parton, N. (1985). The politics of child abuse. London: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parton, N. (1997). Child protection and family support: Tensions, Contradictions and Possibilities. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rando, T. (1986). Parental loss of a child. Champaign: Research Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raphael, B. (1985). The anatomy of bereavement: A handbook for the caring professions. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reder, P., & Duncan, S. (2004). From Colwell to Climbie: Inquiring into fatal child abuse. In N. Stanley & J. Manthorpe (Eds.), The age of the inquiry (pp. 92–115). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reder, P., Duncan, S., & Gray, M. (1993). Beyond blame: Child abuse tragedies revisited. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, M. (2003). A personal reflective account: The impact of the collation and sharing of information during a child protection investigation. Child and Family Social Work, 8, 123–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Royal College of Pathologists and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. (2004). Sudden unexpected death in infancy: A multi-agency protocol for care and investigation. London: Royal College of Pathologists and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPath & RCPCH).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rugg, J. (2006). Lawn cemeteries: The emergence of a new landscape of death. Urban History, 33(2), 213–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seale, C. (1998). Constructing death: The sociology of dying and bereavement. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Shoesmith, S. (2016). Learning from baby P. London: Jessica Kingsley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sidebotham, P., & Fleming, P. (2007). Unexpected death in childhood: A handbook for practitioners. London: John Wiley & Sons.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sidebotham, P., Blair, P., Evason-Coombe, C., Edmonds, M., Heckstall-Smith, E., & Fleming, P. (2010). Responding to unexpected infant deaths: Experience in one English region. Archives of disease in childhood, 95(4), 291–295.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, J. (2004). Foreword. In A. Dent & A. Stewart (Eds.), Sudden death in childhood (p. x). London: Butterworth-Heinemann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Speedy, J. (2008). Narrative inquiry and psychotherapy. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Stanley, N., & Manthorpe, J. (2004). The age of the inquiry. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stroebe, M. S., & Schut, H. (2001). Meaning making in the dual process model of coping with bereavement. In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Meaning reconstruction and the experience of loss (pp. 55–73). Washington, DC: American Psychological Assoc.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Walter, T., Hourizi, R., Moncur, W., & Pitsillides, S. (2012). Does the internet change how we die and mourn? Overview and Analysis Omega, 64(4), 275–302.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warner, J. (2015). The emotional politics of child protection. Bristol: Policy Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler, I. (2001). Parental bereavement: The crisis of meaning. Death studies, 25(1), 51–66.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Worden, J. W. L. (1991). Grief counseling and grief therapy: A handbook for the mental health practitioner. New York: Springer Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lewes, UK

    Denise Turner

Authors
  1. Denise Turner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Turner, D. (2017). Death in an Era of Inquiry. In: Perspectives on the Experience of Sudden, Unexpected Child Death. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66017-2_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation