Parental experiences of their infant's hospital admission undergoing cardiac surgery: a systematic review

AIM: To explore parents' experiences of parenting a child hospitalised with congenital heart disease (CHD) and undergoing surgery.

METHODS: Five electronic databases were systematically searched for articles describing the experiences of parents with a child with a CHD. A thematic analysis approach was used to identify the most common themes.

RESULTS: A total of 188 articles were identified. Eight studies were included in the review. Four themes emerged, including balancing the parental role, experiencing anticipatory grief, decreasing parental stress using coping strategies, and professional support.

CONCLUSION: Having a child with CHD undergoing heart surgery is a stressful experience due to, among other things, the different situation-related parenting role during the hospital stay and feelings of anticipatory grief. Health care professionals in the PICU have an essential role in supporting parents and understanding the needs that are crucial for the parents in order to provide better support and reduce stress and anxiety. More qualitative research regarding the pathway from the prenatal diagnosis through the early childhood period is warranted.