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Prenatal counseling in extreme prematurity - Insight into preferences from experienced parents
Rosa Geurtzen1, Arno van Heijst1, Jos Draaisma1
1Amalia Children's Hospital, Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Insights
Parents of extremely premature infants desire timely, repeated prenatal counseling with clear, adjustable information and empathetic communication. Preferences varied regarding shared decision-making roles in infant care.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Medicine
- Perinatal Psychology
- Healthcare Communication
Background:
- Prenatal counseling for extreme prematurity is critical for parental decision-making.
- Understanding parental preferences can optimize counseling strategies.
- Previous research has not fully captured nuanced parental needs in this high-stakes context.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore and define parental preferences for prenatal counseling concerning extremely premature infants.
- To identify key elements of effective counseling from the parents' perspective.
Main Methods:
- Nationwide qualitative interview study.
- Inclusion of experienced parents of infants born between 24 and 24 weeks of gestation.
- Thematic analysis of transcribed semi-structured interviews until data saturation.
Main Results:
- Parents desired counseling as early as possible, often requesting multiple sessions.
- Supportive materials with adjustable detail levels and an empathetic, honest communication style were highly valued.
- Parental and physician roles in decision-making varied, with parents emphasizing their responsibility for infant protection.
Conclusions:
- Significant variations in parental preferences for prenatal counseling organization, content, and decision-making were identified.
- These findings offer a foundation for developing personalized prenatal counseling approaches for families of extremely premature infants.
Objective:
In-depth analysis of parental preferences in prenatal counseling in extreme prematurity.
Methods:
A nationwide qualitative interview study among experienced parents of extremely premature babies born at 24+0/7 - 24+6/7 weeks of gestation. Semi-structured interviews were held until saturation, transcribed and qualitatively analyzed to search for parental counseling preferences.
Results:
Thirteen parents were included, most parents decided on active care. Organisation: Parents wanted counseling as soon as possible, and for various reasons they wanted more than one conversation. Supportive material to help visualize complex information was suggested to be helpful, preferably with adjustable levels of detail. An empathetic, honest style with commitment of the counselor was regarded important.
Content:
Understandable statistics should be used for those who want it. Parents needed different information with respect to the decision-making as opposed to being prepared for future situations. Decision-making: The preferred share of parents' and doctors' input in decision-making varied among parents and among situations. Parents expressed that their roles were to take responsibility for and protect their infant.
Conclusions:
Various parental preferences for prenatal counseling were found.
Practice Implications:
Common parental preferences for the organisation, content and decision-making elements can provide a starting point for personalized prenatal counseling.
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