Patterns of parental emotional reactions after a pre- or postnatal diagnosis of a congenital anomaly

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to describe parental reactions at disclosure of a diagnosis of congenital anomaly and to investigate both the existence of distinct patterns of intensity of reactions and their association with post-diagnosis psychosymptomatology. Background: When receiving the news of a pre- or postnatal diagnosis of congenital anomaly, parents usually display acute grief reactions. However, questions arise regarding the variability and intensity of those reactions and their clinical significance. Method: Fifty-one women and 42 men whose infants were diagnosed with a congenital anomaly completed, one month after the disclosure, the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 and retrospectively evaluated their emotional experience at disclosure. Results: Negative emotions, and also hope, were experienced with greater intensity at disclosure. There was variability of emotional reactions, as two distinct patterns were identified: one pattern fits the acute grief reactions pattern, and another of less-intense emotional reactions. No gender differences were found on emotional reactions. Higher-intensity reactions at disclosure were associated with more psychosymptomatology one-month later only for fathers. Conclusion: Findings suggest the need for healthcare professionals to adjust their practice to meet parental needs in the early post-diagnosis stage. Both parents should be given the opportunity to express their emotions as a couple and individually.

Keywords:

• congenital anomaly
• disclosure
• prenatal diagnosis
• postnatal diagnosis
• parental emotional reactions
• psychopathological symptoms

Acknowledgements

This study is part of the ‘Reproductive decisions and transition to parenthood after a pre- or postnatal diagnosis of congenital anomaly’ research project, integrated in the Relationships, Development & Health research group of the R&D Unit Institute of Cognitive Psychology, Vocational and Social Development of the University of Coimbra (FEDER/POCTI–SFA–160–192). Ana Fonseca and Bárbara Nazaré are supported by PhD Scholarships from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BD/47053/2008, SFRH/BD/43204/2008, respectively). The authors wish to thank the services that enabled the sample collection: Pediatric Cardiology Service of the Pediatric Hospital – Centro Hospitalar de Coimbra (parents of babies with congenital heart disease) and the Obstetrics and Neonatology Departments – Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra (the remaining participants from the clinical group).