Parenting Stress in Turkish Mothers of Infants With Cleft Lip and/or Palate.

Abstract

To explore parenting stress and factors affecting the mothers of infants with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) in Turkey. The study compared mothers of infants born with CL/P (n = 90) with mothers of healthy infants (n = 90). Mothers completed the data collection form, the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Mothers of infants born with CL/P had higher mean parenting stress scores than the control mothers. A significant negative relationship was found between social support and parenting stress for mothers of infants born with CL/P but was not related for control mothers. Among mothers with an infant with CL/P, the mean parenting stress scores were higher for mothers preoperatively than mothers responding postoperatively. Among mothers with an infant with a cleft, higher stress was found for diagnosis after birth, not breastfeeding, feeding difficulties, lack of fathers' support, perceived difficult infant temperament, blame, anger, and concern for the future. Parenting stress was higher and social support was lower for mothers of infants with a cleft. Treatment teams can design interventions aimed at factors related to stress, such as addressing feeding issues, teaching coping skills, and linking to social support.