**1. Introduction**

The birth of a baby is a crucial event in the life of every human being. The dream of every parent becomes a nightmare if the baby they were expecting is born with cerebral palsy (CP). It is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder and is the leading cause of physical disability in childhood [1]. The condition affects body movement, muscle control, muscle coordination, muscle tone, reflex, posture and balance. A child with CP suffers from several conditions, ranging from spastic paralysis, cognitive, speech and visual impairment, chronic pain and, gastrointestinal problems. As a result, the child will experience several limitations in life and may need to be cared for either by the parent or care taker. Moreover, such child may require assistance in almost all of the activities of the daily living, such as bathing, feeding as well as assistance with turning, lifting the child whenever one wants to go out. One of the major problem faced by parents is attending to chronic health condition that the child might be suffering from. There is a great evidence that a child with cerebral palsy may also suffer from other illnesses, apart from the disability [2]. Thus, when compared to parents of typically developing children, parents of children with CP experience greater stress, lower psychological well-being, and worse physical health [3].

CP refers to a group of permanent disorders in the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitations, which are attributed to non-progressive disturbances that occurred in the developing fetal or infant brain [4]. The motor disturbance in a child with CP contributes to impaired cognitive ability, communication disorders, musculoskeletal problems, perception disturbance as well as epilepsy [3]. These problems associated with cerebral palsy may result in physical, social, psychological wellbeing and economic burden to the parents, families and community at large. The presence of a child with cerebral palsy in the family can be a source of great disappointment and stress to families. Significant number of research in this area has revealed the stress level endured by parents of children born with CP. The high stress levels among the parents were related to medical and social services that parents have to source during their predicament in raising a challenged child [2]. Mothers of children with CP are exposed to psychological pressure, are under the impact of stress and depression, and are worried for their child's future [5]. Most of their time is spend on the child's nutrition, health, treatment, rehabilitation and are subjected to financial burdens.

CP is an important example of a medical condition that requires competent, comprehensive, continuous, compassionate and community-based care [6]. Based on this, it is of utmost important to equip parents and their families with knowledge and skills to enable them to provide necessary support to their children. It is a permanent disorder that requires collective efforts from parents and health care providers such as occupational health therapist, speech and physical therapists. The health demands for a child with cerebral palsy may also place psychological, social and economic burden on parents and families. Therefore, it is also critical that primary care providers (PCP) be involved and knowledgeable about the current and future care plan for the best outcome for each child [6]. Parents, especially mothers are drivers of care, they do more work related to the care of a child. Caring for such a child who depends on care from others, can be energy draining, and mothers may require both social, psychological and financial support from other people to sustain their caring journey.
