Medical progress affords patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) the opportunity to become parents.
To assess the psychological issues of parenthood in persons with cystic fibrosis.
Semi-structured interviews on parenthood, conducted by a psychologist with CF parents treated at the Cystic Fibrosis Center and the Transplantation Center of Foch hospital (Suresnes, France).
Twenty-one (21) fathers and 22 mothers participated ; 84 % had become parents through pregnancy, 14% via adoption and one woman by means of surrogacy; 73% of the women and 67% of the men had done so prior to lung transplantation, while 25% had achieved parenthood without or against medical advice. As parents, they suffered from a lack of familial and medical support for their parental projects and a lack of recognition of their reproductive difficulties.
While the desire for a child may be initially repressed by potentially life-threatening risks, a loving couple with a satisfying sexual life may in many instances surmount the repression and express the desire, which is not only the desire for a potentially life-bearing body, but also the desire to start a family.
Copyright © 2022 SPLF. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
About The Expert
S Odie
L Karpel
References
PubMed