Parental Expectations for a Child with a Birth Defect.

Previous research findings indicate that some parents who have a child with a birth defect attribute greater consequences to a child's physical or psychological well-being than are warranted by the actual birth defect. These inaccurate assumptions may affect parenting styles and consequently the course of a child's development thus creating the conditions for a self-fulfilling prophecy. Parent knowledge about the defect (knowledge) and parental perception of professional support for the feelings engendered in birthing a child with a defect (professional support) appear to be important in the development of parental perceptions regarding the effect of the defect on the child's future development. A cross sectional design was used to gather data from two groups of parents, 27 couples who had a child with hypospadius and 30 couples who had a child with cleft lip/palate. Investigator developed questionnaires were used to ascertain parental perception of professional teaching and support in the immediate post-partum period, current knowledge about the defect, and parental expectations regarding the effect of the child's birth defect on the child's life. Parents in the cleft group were told sooner and were together more often when told the diagnosis than parents in the hypospadius group. Couples in the cleft group reported receiving significantly more teaching and support in the immediate post-partum period from health professionals than couples in the hypospadius group. Mothers and fathers in both groups believed the defect would have some effect on their children's lives although mothers in both groups generally believed the defect would have less of an effect than fathers. Spouse expectations, years of formal education and elements of support positively influenced the accuracy of male expectations for their children. For female groups, elements of knowledge were components for both groups. Further exploration of these relationships and replication with couples who have infants with different birth defects is necessary before a more specific theoretical model can be posited.Ph.D.NursingUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/160262/1/8502761.pd