title: [Parents' recollection of the initial announcement of hemophilia in children].
abstract: Discovering chronic illnesses in children initially shatters the family balance and triggers emotional reactions.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively report parents' experiences and emotional reactions to learning the diagnosis of hemophilia in their children. Twenty-six parents (18 mothers, 8 fathers) of 24 hemophiliac A or B children (major n=8, moderate n=6, mild n=10), aged from 0 to 18 years, were individually asked to answer a separate questionnaire for each child during a systematic consultation. We obtained 29 completed questionnaires.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The diagnostic circumstances were a major bleeding episode (n=8), frequent hematomas (n=4), preoperative blood sample (n=4), and familial screening (n=8). In 9 cases, both parents were informed of the diagnosis at the same time and in 13 cases, the mother was alone. The most frequent feelings were future apprehension (n=20), initial shock reaction (n=18), anxiety (n=12), and guilt (n=10) expressed by mothers only. Parents' emotional states were neither correlated with the severity of the disease nor with the diagnostic circumstances. All parents questioned reported being satisfied with the quality of the initial information.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The crisis generated by learning the diagnosis of a chronic disease in their children warrants delivering initial information to both parents at the same time, especially in hemophilia since mothers tend to be more concerned.
authors.affiliation: Service d'hématologie-oncologie et immunologie pédiatrique, CHU Nord, place Victor-Pauchet, 80054 Amiens cedex, France. lithiaote.valerie@chu-amiens.fr
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Li-Thiao-Te
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Doise
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Boulfroy
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tinot
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Notheaux-Micheli
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pautard
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006467:Hemophilia A / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult