Supporting families with preterm children and children suffering from dermatitis

In this chapter, the authors review the impact of the child's diagnosis on the parents; then describes characteristics of both the sick child and her or his relationship with the parent. It is reasonable to suppose that the parents' reactions to the baby's diagnosis at birth, when the relationship with the child still needs time to develop, may be different from those of parents who are confronted with illness when the child is older and the relationship has been consolidated. Significant differences in the distribution of the attachment patterns between preterm and term children seem to be due to the concurrence of other risk factors that in combination with preterm birth may increase the probability for developing insecure attachment. Parents with secure attachment representations tend to be more sensitive to their child's signals and more often establish a secure attachment relationship with their child.