We asked parents to send us their experiences of having a child diagnosed with Developmental Dysplasia of the Hips (DDH) You can download the individual stories from the right hand column.

Many common themes emerge from parent stories. Whereas most parents praised the quality of the care they received whilst their child was being treated many had strong concerns about the diagnosis process. We identified 5 common concerns:

• Overwhelmingly parents' felt that there was a lack of information.
• If parents expressed concerns to health professionals, they felt they were not taken seriously; this was not only frustrating and distressing for the parents but delayed diagnosis.
• Parents' also report that there is a lack of awareness about risk factors such as family history.
• Even if a diagnosis has been made there can be real frustration with delays to see a consultant and to get the treatment started.
• Even though an ultrasound examination is part of a diagnostic pathway for babies with a clinical diagnosis and or risk factors some hospitals do not provide it and often there is often no referral system to another facility.