colostomy as a first step to enabling recovery from delivery and growth.
When a child is diagnosed with anal malformation, it usually results in a traumatic period for a family, espe-
cially if the parents are new and young and it can be difficult for them to accept or comprehend the information
[3] [9]. Information and support from health care personnel need to be ongoing as open communication between
caregivers and parents is an important factor in pediatric care [10] [11]. Once discharged from hospital after the
colostomy operation, the parents are responsible for the care of their child’s stoma. In the hospital the parents
are shown in general how to carry out the care, but in Vietnamese hospitals there are nospecific guidelines for
stoma care in infants at home. This means that parents may often go home without sufficient experience of
changing bags or knowledge about aids or where to buy them. In the present study such guidelines were created
and tested. The aim was to describe and investigate the value of an education program for parents to a child born
with an imperforate anus in order to help them cope with the new situation of caring for a child with a stoma. A
comparison is done with a group of parents following the routine of the hospital. A secondary aim was to illu-
minate the parents’ feelings and concerns during the first month after the child was born.
2. Participants
Twenty consecutive parents of newborn infants with anorectic malformations waiting colostomy