Background and aims The purpose of this study is to determine the difficulties experienced by mothers of children with cerebral palsy and their needs.

Methods Qualitative design. The study was conducted in the province of Zonguldak, Turkey, at a special rehabilitation centre with 15 children with CP and their mothers registered at the centre. An in-depth interview was held with each of the mothers consenting to participate in the study.

Results The subjects’ sociodemographic characteristics shows that mean age is 37.06 ± 1.23 years, most are elementary school-middle school graduates, city-dwellers and 73.3% have no chronic disease. All of the women having children with CP said that they were shocked when they first found out about the diagnosis, that they suffered disappointment, were very frightened because they knew nothing about the disease and also guilty for bringing such a child into the world. It was seen however that fathers had difficulty accepting their child’s sickness but that mothers acknowledged this fact sooner than their spouses. All of the mothers stated that they could not find a suitable institution to place the child and that teachers at school were inadequate in terms of the child’s education and that they would not pay them the attention they needed.

Conclusions The families with children diagnosed with cerebral palsy, couples are faced with many difficulties that include personal relations, social and economic problems, as well as issues involving the sick child’s care and education. In connexion with these difficulties, it was also seen that the situation took a toll on the sexual lives of parents.