Fear and anxiety are recurring problems for parents of food-allergic children. However, no study has described parents’ experiences of introducing food to their children after double-blind provocation. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate mothers’ experiences during their child’s negative Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Food Challenge (DBPCFC) and the following reintroduction of food. Eight mothers were interviewed and a qualitative content analysis displayed two themes and six subthemes. The first theme, ‘living with fear of the unknown’, included the subthemes of ‘fear of losing control’, ‘having faith even though fear prevails’, ‘reintroducing despite fear’ and ‘fear of causing harm’. In the second theme, the mothers described the challenging process of ‘re-evaluating earlier experiences’ through the sub-themes of ‘daring to take new challenges’ and ‘refraining from new challenges’. Our study indicates that the maternal perspective — not only the professional perspective — needs to be taken into account if mothers are to succeed in the challenging process of reintroducing foods.
Angström-Brännström C., Norberg A., and Jansson L. (2008) Narratives of children with chronic illness about being comforted. Journal of Pediatric Nursing23(4): 310-316.
2.
Avery NJ, King RM, Knight S., and Hourihane JO ( 2003) Assessment of quality of life in children with peanut allergy. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology14(5): 378-382.
3.
Bock SA ( 1987) Prospective appraisal of complaints of adverse reactions to foods in children during the first 3 years of life. Pediatrics79(5): 683-688.
4.
Bollinger ME, Dahlquist LM, Mudd K., Sonntag C., Dillinger L., and McKenna K. ( 2006) The impact of food allergy on the daily activities of children and their families. Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology96(3): 415-421.
5.
Crespo JF, Pascual C., Burks AW, Helm RM, and Esteban MM ( 1995) Frequency of food allergy in a pediatric population from Spain. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology6(1): 39-43.
6.
Crnic KA, Greenberg MT ( 1990) Minor parenting stresses with young children. Child Development61(5): 1628-1637.
7.
Dalal I., Binson I., Reifen R., Amitai Z., Shohat T., Rahmani S., Levine A., Ballin A., and Somekh E. ( 2002) Food allergy is a matter of geography after all: sesame as a major cause of severe IgE-mediated food allergic reactions among infants and young children in Israel. Allergy57(4): 362-365.
8.
Downe-Wamboldt B. ( 1992) Content analysis: method, applications, and issues. Health Care for Women International13(3): 313-321.
9.
Earle E., Clarke SA, Eiser C., and Sheppard L. ( 2007) ‘Building a new normality’: mothers’ experiences of caring for a child with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Child: Care, Health and Development33(2): 155-160.
10.
Eigenmann PA, Caubet JC, and Zamora SA ( 2006) Continuing food-avoidance diets after negative food challenges . Pediatric Allergy and Immunology17(8): 601-605.
11.
Forsner M., Jansson L., and Soerlie W. ( 2005) Being ill as narrated by children aged 11-18 Years. Journal of Child Health Care9(4): 314-23.
12.
Graneheim UH, Lundman B. ( 2004) Qualitative content analysis in nursing research: concepts, procedures and measures to achieve trustworthiness. Nurse Education Today24(2): 105-112.
13.
Hägglund L., Boman K., and Lundman B. ( 2008) The experience of fatigue among elderly women with chronic heart failure. European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing7(4): 290-295.
14.
Hill DJ, Hosking CS, and Heine RG ( 1999) Clinical spectrum of food allergy in children in Australia and South-East Asia: identification and targets for treatment. Annals of Medicine31(4): 272-281.
15.
Jackson AC, Stewart H., O’Toole M., Tokatlian N., Enderby K., Miller J., and Ashley D. ( 2007) Pediatric brain tumor patients: their parents’ perceptions of the hospital experience. Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing24(2): 95-105.
16.
Joshi P., Mofidi S., and Sicherer SH ( 2002) Interpretation of commercial food ingredient labels by parents of food-allergic children. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology109(6): 1019-1021.
17.
Mandell D., Curtis R., Gold M., and Hardie S. ( 2005) Anaphylaxis: how do you live with it? Health & Social Work30(4): 325-335.
18.
Marklund B., Ahlstedt S., and Nordstrom G. ( 2006) Health-related quality of life in food hypersensitive school-children and their families: parents’ perceptions. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes4: 48.
19.
Niggemann B., Rolinck-Werninghaus C., Mehl A., Binder C., Ziegert M., and Beyer K. ( 2005) Controlled oral food challenges in children - when indicated, when superfluous?Allergy60(7): 865-870.
20.
Novembre E., Cianferoni A., Bernardini R., Mugnaini L., Caffarelli C., Cavagni G., Giovane A., and Vierucci A. ( 1998) Anaphylaxis in children: clinical and allergologic features . Pediatrics101(4): E8.
21.
Nowak-Wegrzyn A., Conover-Walker MK, and Wood RA ( 2001) Food-allergic reactions in schools and pre-schools. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine155(7): 790-795.
22.
Nystedt A., Högberg U., and Lundman B. ( 2008) Women’s experiences of becoming a mother after prolonged labour. Journal of Advanced Nursing63(3): 250-258.
23.
Pascual CY, Crespo JF, Perez PG, and Esteban MM ( 2000) Food allergy and intolerance in children and adolescents, an update. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition54 (Suppl. 1): S75-78.
24.
Paterson BL ( 2001) The shifting perspectives model of chronic illness. Journal of Nursing Scholarship30(1): 21-26.
25.
Primeau MN, Kagan R., Joseph L., Lim H., Dufresne C., Duffy C., Prhcal D., and Clarke A. ( 2000) The psychological burden of peanut allergy as perceived by adults with peanut allergy and the parents of peanut-allergic children . Clinical and Experimental Allergy30(8): 1135-1143.
26.
Rance F., Kanny G., Dutau G., and Moneret-Vautrin DA (1999) Food hypersensitivity in children: clinical aspects and distribution of allergens. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology10(1) 33-38.
27.
Rice Hill V (ed.) (2000) Handbook of Stress, Coping, and Health: Implications For Nursing Research, Theory, and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
28.
Sampson HA, Ho DG ( 1997) Relationship between food-specific IgE concentrations and the risk of positive food challenges in children and adolescents. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology100(4): 444-451.
29.
Sandin A., Annus T., Bjorksten B., Nilsson L., Riikjarv MA, van Hage-Hamsten M., and Braback L. ( 2005) Prevalence of self-reported food allergy and IgE antibodies to food allergens in Swedish and Estonian school-children. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition59(3): 399-403.
30.
Sicherer SH, Sampson HA ( 2006) 9. Food Allergy. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology117(2 Suppl. Mini-Primer): S470-475.
31.
Soyland Wasenius AK, Halvorsen R. ( 2003) [Oral Provocation Tests for Adverse Reactions to Food.]Tidsskrift for den Norske lægeforening123(13-14): 1829-1830.
32.
Thong BY, Hourihane JO ( 2004) Monitoring of IgE-mediated food allergy in childhood. Acta Paediatrica93:759-764.
33.
Weiss C., Munoz-Furlong A., Furlong T., and Arbit J. ( 2004) Impact of food allergies on school nursing practice. The Journal of School Nursing20(5): 268-278.
34.
Wood RA ( 2003) The natural history of food allergy. Pediatrics111(6 Pt 3): 1631-1637.
