Psychological management of hydrocephalic patients and its parents

Abstract

Receiving a prenatal diagnosis of hydrocephalus is often traumatizing for parents. The attitudes and beliefs of the healthcare practitioners have a great impact on the psychological state of the parents and the decisions they make regarding their fetus. Some meet this diagnosis with distress and anxiety, and others with shocked and disbelief. Trying to manage the psychological distress of the parents should be a priority for all practitioners. After receiving the diagnosis, the mother usually has to make the decision on whether or not to terminate the pregnancy due to fetal abnormality. This decision will depend on a variety of conditions that needed careful consideration. If the mother decides to progress with the pregnancy, and delivers an infant that survives into childhood, there is a possibility that psychological adjustment issues will begin to manifest. At the end of this chapter, there will be an advice section for the parents or children with hydrocephalus.