Preparing Heart and Mind for Becoming a Parent Following a Diagnosis of Fetal Anomaly.
Using a cross-sectional, grounded dimensional analysis study design, we collected demographic and health information and conducted telephone interviews with 37 expectant parents of 26 fetuses within 25 families. We describe a theoretical model with a core process of preparing heart and mind for becoming a parent following a diagnosis of fetal anomaly. The process of preparing was influenced by fetal and future child health, experiences of previous loss, and social interactions within both new and familiar settings. Expectant parents reported varying turning points and strategies associated with three distinct trajectories of relating to the fetus or "baby" yet to be born. These relational trajectories include claiming the child as one's own, delaying the connection to the fetus, and doing the routine of pregnancy. With the findings presented in this article, we extend the understanding of how parenting develops during pregnancy in the context of a fetal anomaly.
['McKechnie|Anne Chevalier|AC|', 'Pridham|Karen|K|', 'Tluczek|Audrey|A|']
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D003071:Cognition D000013:Congenital Abnormalities D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D004644:Emotions D005260:Female D005333:Fetus D006801:Humans D007407:Interviews as Topic D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D015146:Midwestern United States D010287:Parent-Child Relations D016487:Parenting D010290:Parents D011247:Pregnancy D055815:Young Adult
parenting dimensional analysis families pregnancy coping and adaptation illness and disease, experiences relationships, parent-child theory development