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Abstract

Phenomenological inquiry resulted in a description of midlife mothers' lived experience of launching a child. The purposive sample comprised 14 midlife mothers who had launched a child within 5 months to 3 years of the interview. Data were elicited through interviews and analysis proceeded in a manner suggested by Colaizzi (1978). Criteriafor scholarly rigor were demonstrated. Salient theme clusters included (1) the mother's own launching, (2) maturational imperative, (3) the breaking of the branch, (4) letting go, (5) family ties, and (6) a mother's metamorphosis. Launching spans a prolonged developmental period of mother and child and involves the child's progression through a series of events eventually culminating in his or her adult status. However, events are merely the external markers of launching. Launching is more precisely an internal process achieved through considerable pain, which paradoxically leads to a mother's sense of rebirth.

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The Meaning of Launching a Child

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