Kärlek räknar inte kromosomer : En litteraturstudie om att leva med Downs syndrom ur ett föräldraperspektiv

Sammanfattning: Parents of children with Down syndrome have high demands on their parenting because of the care and needs of the child, which also applies throughout life. The purpose of this literature study was to invetigate parent's experiences of living with a child with Down syndrome. Based on the purpose of this study relevant keywords were chosen and used in the systematic searches. Four themes emerged after the processing and review of the result articles. These four themes were: anxiety, acceptability, challenges and support. the result showed that parents of children with Down syndrome felt concern and anxiety but also joy and love for their child. It also emerged that the support in their life was seen as a great asset in order to cope with the difficulties they might be facing. In healthcare parents could sometimes feel a lack of continuity and a bad attitude from healtcare personal which was identified as a risk of poor quality of care. In order to provide the best possible support and care to the parents, healthcare personal and persons in the parents' surroundings need to be aware and have an understanding of the parents' situation. Daring to meet the parents and their child is essential to build a good relationship and provide good care. Furthermore, it would be interesting to explore nurses' experiences of caring for people with Down syndrome.