The parents`’ experiences with intensive physiotherapy to infants with CP: an interview study

Abstract

Aim: To explore the experiences of parents of infants with CP, who took part in a program with periods of frequent physiotherapy. Material: Parents of five infants aged 6-9 months with CP (five mothers and two fathers), who had participated in two 4-weeks periods of physiotherapy five days a week, interrupted by eight weeks without therapy. Method: Semi structured and retrospective interviews. Result: Three themes emerged: Being parents of infants newly diagnosed with CP, Experiences with the participation in frequent periods of physiotherapy, and The children’s change in motor functions. Becoming parents of children with CP was described as a demanding process of adaptation. The parents had many questions about the future, and they did not know what to expect. They experienced the participation in periods with daily therapy as useful, they felt more confident and had learned much about handling and how to stimulate their children. The parents clearly experienced changes in their children’s motor function, without being able to link these changes to specific periods. Implication for praxis: The parents of children newly diagnosed with CP seem to need a lot of support and consulting both to increase parent-empowerment and to learn handling and stimulation. Frequent physiotherapy may provide the kind of support and knowledge they ask for.

Keywords

• Parents’ participation
• infant
• cerebral paresis
• daily physiotherapy
• periodic physiotherapy
• change in motor function