From dream to reality: a disabled child is born

This work aims to outline the repercussions of the news of a child's disability on the family and the couple's life, how they deal with this new reality, how they reorganize themselves to receive this child, and what support network they can build. It's a descriptive, exploratory, qualitative approach study. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with nine mothers and eight fathers of children aged up to two years. The data were analyzed using content analysis in thematic mode. The results point out the pregnancy and its expectations, show how the parents organized themselves for the arrival of the baby. Despite their different expectations, they started reorganizing their routines; the news of the son's disability, which brings together different feelings of helplessness, insecurity and doubts about the future; the arrival of the baby which, after denial, comes with a series of worries, adaptations and fear; how they organized themselves for care as many parents had to choose who would stop working to take care of the child. The adaptations made by the family were structured to assist the disabled child, seeking comfort, and a good life. Having a child with a disability requires a lot of dedication from parents, and families need support from health services so that they can talk about the difficulties experienced and possible paths to a better quality of life for their children.