TY - JOUR
T1 - Interpersonal relationships after prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease
T2 - Social stressors and supports
AU - Marshall, Emily
AU - Gramszlo, Colette
AU - Perez Ramirez, Alejandra
AU - Kazak, Anne E.
AU - Shillingford, Amanda J.
AU - Ortinau, Cynthia M.
AU - Kelly, Sarah L.
AU - Kasparian, Nadine
AU - Edwards, Lindsay A.
AU - Divanovic, Allison A.
AU - Davis, Jo Ann
AU - Butler, Samantha C.
AU - Braley, Katherine
AU - Riegel, Erin
AU - Sood, Erica
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc. 2025.
PY - 2025/7
Y1 - 2025/7
N2 - Objective: To identify social stressors and supports for expectant parents after prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD) and inform interventions to reduce distress. Method: Parents of children diagnosed prenatally with CHD (N = 37) were purposively sampled across eight health systems. Qualitative data were collected using crowdsourcing methods and coded/analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Social stressors increasing distress after prenatal diagnosis were widely endorsed: (1) feelings of loneliness (most common: 68%), (2) well-meaning yet unhelpful comments, (3) loss of celebration of pregnancy, (4) information overload, and (5) untimely/insensitive discussions surrounding pregnancy termination. Social supports included: (1) emotional support and small acts of kindness, (2) hope/connection through the experiences of others, (3) informational support, (4) nurturing normalcy and the joy of pregnancy, and (5) connection through religion/spirituality. Conclusion: Interpersonal relationships are vital for coping with prenatal diagnosis. Interventions to reduce distress after prenatal diagnosis should attend to common social stressors.
AB - Objective: To identify social stressors and supports for expectant parents after prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD) and inform interventions to reduce distress. Method: Parents of children diagnosed prenatally with CHD (N = 37) were purposively sampled across eight health systems. Qualitative data were collected using crowdsourcing methods and coded/analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Social stressors increasing distress after prenatal diagnosis were widely endorsed: (1) feelings of loneliness (most common: 68%), (2) well-meaning yet unhelpful comments, (3) loss of celebration of pregnancy, (4) information overload, and (5) untimely/insensitive discussions surrounding pregnancy termination. Social supports included: (1) emotional support and small acts of kindness, (2) hope/connection through the experiences of others, (3) informational support, (4) nurturing normalcy and the joy of pregnancy, and (5) connection through religion/spirituality. Conclusion: Interpersonal relationships are vital for coping with prenatal diagnosis. Interventions to reduce distress after prenatal diagnosis should attend to common social stressors.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/86000297282
U2 - 10.1038/s41372-025-02250-z
DO - 10.1038/s41372-025-02250-z
M3 - Article
C2 - 40050404
AN - SCOPUS:86000297282
SN - 0743-8346
VL - 45
SP - 907
EP - 913
JO - Journal of Perinatology
JF - Journal of Perinatology
IS - 7
ER -