Maternal Preferences for Approach and Language Use During Antenatal Counseling at Extreme Prematurity: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Introduction: Counseling families at risk for extremely preterm birth presents significant challenges to providers due to the uncertainty of infant outcomes. Aim: To determine lay-public parental preferences for approaches to prenatal counseling and preferred descriptive terminology usage by providers when discussing an anticipated extremely preterm delivery. Methods: This exploratory pilot study recruited parents through social media to participate in a survey centered around a hypothetical delivery at 23 weeks. Questions assessed participants’ understanding of medical terminology and preferences for terminology, discussion topics, and approaches to decision-making related to anticipated extremely preterm birth. Results: A total of 142 (72%) parents participated. Understanding of medical compared with nonmedical terminology was limited ( P < .01). Parents had stronger preferences for the use of certain words and terminology over others. They preferred discussions focused on the possibility of infant survival and information about intensive care, over general statistics, and outcome percentages. Most would choose attempted stabilization and neonatal intensive care unit care in this hypothetical case. Discussion/Conclusions: Parents have preferences regarding physician communication and approaches to decision-making around extremely preterm delivery, which may offer guidance to providers during counseling.

The AIMS home-video method: parental experiences and appraisal for use in neonatal follow-up clinics

“…A relevant lesson learned from this study is that, when giving feedback, it is very important to tell parents what their child can do, as the parents of the infant with suspected cerebral palsy stated. It is important to concentrate on the strengths of a child, with positively phrased messages, and not just focus on weaknesses [ 35 , 36 , 46 , 47 ]. This is in agreement with the strength-based principle, whereas research shows that positive communication enhances parents’ confidence and reduces their anxiety.…”

Expressive Speech Acts of Politeness in The Counselling Process

“…Language has an important role in therapy since it contributes significantly to the success of the counseling process (Arzuaga et al, 2021;Kloser, 2013;Ross et al, 2013). Language is viewed as part of discovering and leveraging strengths inside the client that are deemed useful in the effectiveness of counseling in the counselor and client communication process (Scheel et al, 2013), on the condition that the counselor and the client have a reflective and critical discussion (Strong et al, 2015).…”