Replacement child

Replacement child is a term used to refer to a child conceived shortly after the parents have lost another child. It was coined by psychologists Albert C. Cain and Barbara S. Cain in 1964.

In 1980, clinicians Robert Krell and Leslie Rabkin identified three types of replacement child: the "haunted" child, who lives in a family overwhelmed by guilt and silence, the "bound" child, who is incomparably precious and sometimes over-protected, and the "resurrected" child, who is treated as a reincarnation of the dead sibling. Artists Vincent van Gogh and Salvador Dalí, who both had brothers of the same name who died before their birth, are examples of resurrected children.