Final answer:
A young mother can help her friend cope with loss by empathizing and providing support, being present and understanding through the grieving process, and reflecting on her own experiences with grief to better relate and assist her friend.
Step-by-step explanation:
The best way a young mother can help her friend cope with loss is by empathizing and providing support. Ignoring the friend's pain or avoiding the situation is not conducive to healing, and telling her friend to simply move on can be insensitive to the complex emotions involved in grieving. Instead, being present, listening, and offering comfort are ways to show empathy. Utilizing Elisabeth Küber-Ross's five stages of grief, which include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, can help in understanding what the grieving friend might be experiencing. Reflecting on personal experiences with loss may enhance one's ability to empathize, as one is able to draw on similar feelings of grief and the process it entailed, whether it was rapid or progressive, linear or non-linear, and if it led to acceptance.