Challenges in Parenting Experienced by Mothers of Young Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Phenomenological Study

Cerebral palsy affects children's ability to control their muscles due to abnormal development or damage to the developing brain. Caring for a young child with cerebral palsy is taxing for the mothers, and they experience a lot of challenges in parenting, including feeding, caring, speech and learning. Thus, it is essential to explore the parenting challenges experienced by mothers of young children with cerebral palsy. Using a descriptive phenomenological design, we aimed to explore and describe challenges faced by mothers in parenting young children with cerebral palsy. The study sample consisted of mothers of young children with cerebral palsy who attended the child development services clinic of the selected tertiary care centre in Kerala, India. Information-rich cases were identified using the intensity sampling technique. Data were collected using face-to-face, in-depth, semi-structured interviews using a validated interview schedule from October 2021 to December 2021. Data were collected till the point of data saturation; rather, it is a small number; we had five mothers in our study. Data were analysed using Colaizzi’s (1978) seven-step process of phenomenological analysis. The mothers’ ages ranged from 23 to 37 years, and all were homemakers and were the sole caretakers of the children. The mothers were from nuclear families and their spouses were the earning members; hence, no caregiving responsibilities have been shared with other family members. The significant daily challenges in parenting experienced by the mothers of children with cerebral palsy emerged as eight themes from the data. The common challenges were related to feeding, toilet hygiene and training, physical care, sleep, mobility, communication, and behavioural and emotional expressions. It is clinically relevant for health care professionals to recognise and acknowledge the challenges of mothers of children with cerebral palsy and intervene on time.