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I want to describe a mother's act for her child, who is not allowed to eat before surgery and she chooses not to eat also, so I have thought of solidarity or support, but I want to also describe sharing this experience with her child. They both feel the hunger together, the child must and the mother chooses.
Mom was fasting in solidarity with her child who was NPO before the procedure.
I would suggest co-suffering but you could also combin it with love:
Mom was fasting in co-suffering (love) with her child who was NPO before the procedure.
You will find co-sufferer in dictionaries with the meaning:
One who suffers with another. (FreeDict)
This is in fact also the etymological meaning of compassion (suffering with another), but this word is more used to describe a feeling, or state, not taking action, like co-suffering does.
The words "solidarity" and "support" have connotations that are somewhat too formal, I would say, but they might be used. Instead, I'd use the plain verb "to join".
(OAlD) [transitive] to take part in something that somebody else is doing or to go somewhere with them
join somebody
• Do you mind if I join you?
join somebody for something
• Will you join us for lunch?
join somebody + adv./prep
• They've invited us to join them on their yacht.
• He joined her downstairs a few minutes later.
join something
• Over 200 members of staff joined the strike.
• Members of the public joined the search for the missing boy.
join somebody in doing something
• I'm sure you'll all join me in wishing Ted and Laura a very happy marriage.
"Sympathetic" has a meaningful parallel in the sense that twins are said to have "sympathetic pain," (one quite literally experiences the suffering of the other) in that the Mother is undertaking the same trevail in an effort to comfort her child. It may need some additional syntax to make it work but it makes for a powerful image.
