A qualitative study of parents' experiences with prematurity antenatal consultation

Objective: Antenatal consultations (AC) are an opportunity to provide anticipatory guidance about preterm birth to parents and facilitate their involvement in healthcare decisions. Literature shows that contextualization and eliciting family beliefs and values is essential, but there is limited discussion about how acknowledging those beliefs and values by clinicians is perceived by parents in AC. The research question is: (How) does the integration of family context (FC), beliefs and values shape patient experience of antenatal counselling? Study Design: This is an exploratory secondary analysis of interviews with eleven parents. A flexible coding strategy was used with a thematic analysis that drew on some methods from grounded theory. Results: Three themes comprising the parental experience of the prematurity antenatal consultation were identified. Parental experiences begin with a whirlwind of unknown, wherein parents feel caught in unanticipated, unknown frenzy of potentially delivering prematurely. Parents rationalized the need for this overwhelming but necessary discussion, but at times question how it was approached. Finally, they used two core methods to cope with this uncertainty; hope and human connection, both rooted in clinician integration of their FC, beliefs and values. Conclusion: This study reinforces the necessity of acknowledging and addressing parental needs identified by understanding their context, beliefs and values, regardless of gestational age or perceived medical complexity by the healthcare professional.