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Background: Little is known about the mental health burden or the factors that contribute to mental health variables in parents of children with congenital heart defects (CHD) during the COVID-19 pandemic., Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine risk and protective factors associated with anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, and perceived stress in parents of young children with CHD during the COVID-19 pandemic., Methods: A nonexperimental design was used in this study of 127 parents of children aged newborn to five years with CHD during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between COVID-19 stressors, CHD care-related factors, parental resilience, external support, and mental health variables., Results: Parental resilience, emotional support, and informational support were key protective factors for anxiety, depression, and stress. However, resilience was remarkably low in CHD parents. Increased levels of anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, and perceived stress were associated with 1) Exposure to a greater number of COVID-19-related stressors, 2) Distress from family visitation restrictions during healthcare encounters, 3) Worry related to the perceived risk of their CHD child's exposure to COVID-19 during healthcare encounters, and 4) Worry about their CHD child's risk of death or serious illness from COVID-19., Conclusions: The additive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic plus CHD care-related worries on this parent population's mental health is significant. Interventions that promote resilience, address the effect of healthcare system changes, and support the needs of parents of young children with CHD during this and future pandemics are needed., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Experiences of mothers of infants undergoing complex heart surgery were explored to build evidence-based family-centered interventions., Background: Congenital heart disease is the most frequent birth defect in the United States and is common worldwide., Methods: Eight mothers recalled through journal entries their experiences of the days before, during, and after their infant's surgery and shared advice for other mothers. Colaizzi's phenomenological method was utilized for data analysis. A validation survey of seven additional mothers from a support group occurred via email., Results: Six themes were identified and validated: Feeling Intense Fluctuating Emotion; Navigating the Medical World; Dealing with the Unknown; Facing the Possibility of My Baby Dying, Finding Meaning and Spiritual Connection, and the umbrella theme of Mothering Through It All., Conclusions: Through a clearer understanding of experiences as described by mothers, health-care providers may gain insight as to how to better support mothers of infants undergoing heart surgery., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)