MRKH Guide for Parents and Guardians:
Accepting your Daughter's Diagnosis

Intro	Helping your Daughter
Treatment Options	Talking with Siblings
Accepting your Daughter's Diagnosis	Commonly Asked Questions
Taking Care of Yourself

It's common to experience a range of emotions when your daughter is diagnosed with MRKH, such as confusion, guilt, sadness and helplessness. Some parents/guardians may feel overwhelmed, or may move into “high gear”, seeking all the information they can access over the internet or from other health care providers. You may feel the need to discuss your daughter's new diagnosis frequently with your family and friends or you may feel the need to withdraw from friends and family for a while. It's also common for parents/guardians to want to “check-in” with their daughters more often than usual about their thoughts or feelings. Typically parents/guardians compare these feelings to riding a “roller coaster” of emotions.

As you learn more about your daughter's diagnosis and treatment options, it's unlikely that you will feel the same intense feelings that you initially experienced. Over time you will begin to accept your daughter's diagnosis and be able to support her emotionally and with any treatment she chooses.

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Written by the CYWH Staff at Children's Hospital Boston

Updated: 10/20/2011