When a child dies.

The family physician can be of great help to the parents after a child dies. Practical points to keep in mind are: in acute mourning, denial of death is a common response; parental emotional "detachment" from the dead child takes six to 12 months; parents may be motivated to "replace" the child too quickly; parental relationships with the surviving children can be impaired by overprotectiveness, and the physician should be aware of his limitations in this situation.