Trying to do my best as a mother: decision-making in families of children undergoing elective surgical treatment for short stature.

OBJECTIVES

To explore how families make decisions about elective leg-lengthening surgical treatment.

DESIGN

Interviews were conducted and analysed using Interpretative Phenomeno logical Analysis (Smith, 1995).

METHODS

Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews with nine mothers of children who had recently decided to undergo treatment.

RESULTS

Overall, the decision process was guided by the mothers' central concern to act responsibly as a parent. Thematic analysis indicated that the decision was taken in a social context where short stature could lead to discrimination and disability. The decision-making process evolved gradually over several years as mothers and children gathered information about treatment. While mothers emphasized that ultimately it was their child's decision, they monitored the decision process and filtered the information available in an attempt to ensure that the child made a well-informed and wise choice.

CONCLUSIONS

The decision was presented as an ongoing process by the mothers, their concerns representing their desire to do their best as parents for their children. Theoretically, the mothers' description of the process can be understood in terms of their attempts to resolve an ethical dilemma. Clinical implications include recognition of the role of the psychologist in supporting mothers in their decision making and thus indirectly helping children.