title: Preparing Heart and Mind for Becoming a Parent Following a Diagnosis of Fetal Anomaly.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA amckech@email.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Anne Chevalier
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: McKechnie
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pridham
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tluczek
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; 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 / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: coping and adaptation; dimensional analysis; families; illness and disease, experiences; parenting; pregnancy; relationships, parent-child; theory development