Determining the Problems Experienced by Mothers of Babies with Special Needs

Introduction. Having a baby with special needs causes serious emotional problems in families. Mothers are greatly disappointed and go through a difficult process when they learn that their child has any disability during pregnancy, during childbirth, or later. The lack of systematic support services in Turkey regarding this situation makes the process even more difficult.

Goal. This study, it was aimed to determine the problems experienced by mothers who have babies with special needs.

Methods of the Research. The sample of the study consists of 15 mothers who have babies with special needs. The research is a qualitative study, and the research data were collected with a semi-structured interview form (8 questions). An information form consisting of 8 questions was used to obtain socio-demographic information about mothers.

The Results. As a result of the research, intense anxiety and stress states were found in the majority of mothers. In addition, it was determined that mothers after birth could not reach a source from which they could get regular and healthy information about deficiencies. It was determined that mothers could not reach a source from which they could get regular and healthy information about deficiencies after birth. Moreover, they stated that they felt lonely and helpless after the diagnosis and that they could not get enough support from their spouses and close friends (relatives and friends). The mothers also stated that another problem they experienced was the lack of a place where they could reach at any time and get the right information and support about the problems they experienced. While some mothers stated that the experience of parents with previously diagnosed children is better than that of experts.

Conclusions. In line with the data obtained from mothers, the following can be recommended to experts who will conduct research on this subject in the future and to people related to this subject: (a) families feel alone and helpless during the diagnosis of children with special needs. Having a free center that will enable families to receive systematic and regular support about this new issue can help reduce the level of anxiety of families; (b) organizing the right information resources about special needs by the government (online – face to face) and enabling families in need to access these resources easily after the first diagnosis can relieve families.