From diagnosis to birth parents' experience when expecting a child with congenital anomaly

Björk Áskelsdóttir, Sherrill Conroy, Gwen Rempel

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Articlepeer-review

    32 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Of 350,000 Canadian children born each year, 2% to 3% will have a serious congenital anomaly. Because of recent ultrasound diagnostic improvements and increased frequency of prenatal scans, many anomalies are determined prenatally, with more parents receiving disturbing, unanticipated news of an anomaly. This article highlights the experiences, concerns, and healthcare needs of parents who receive a prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomaly during routine ultrasound and choose to continue with the pregnancy. Examples from parent interviews describing their experience complement the sparse literature dealing with this phenomenon. Parents describe their experience from antenatal diagnosis and preparation for the child's birth and subsequent admission to the neonatal intensive care unit. Attention is paid to how neonatal nurses can positively influence this process by attending to parents' feelings or moods. The conclusion includes recommendations for neonatal nursing care for these vulnerable parents.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)348-354
    Number of pages7
    JournalAdvances in Neonatal Care
    Volume8
    Issue number6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Dec. 2008

    Keywords

    • Congenital anomaly
    • Early diagnosis
    • NICU
    • Parent preparation for birth

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