EMOTIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE IN CHILDREN

Mothers of 25 children with congenital heart disease were interviewed to elicit family reactions to the patient's disorder. Problems for parents included: vague apprehension about the behavior of the newborn, uncertainty about the diagnosis, anxiety about the child's symptoms, fears of death, feelings of guilt, disappointment and irritation with their burden, overprotective attitudes, attempts to provide the child with a normal active life, difficulties with discipline, and various problems related to hospitalization, cardiac catheterization, and heart operation. The physician's role in management of such patients is aided by awareness on his part of the general and specific impact of this handicapping disorder of childhood.