{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T11:36:54Z","timestamp":1785411414743,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776038400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100016230","name":"Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100016230","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04ns7ha44","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Patients with Lyme disease often face uncertainty when navigating the healthcare system during pregnancy and when seeking healthcare for their children exposed to Lyme disease in utero. Little is known about these families\u2019 experiences. This qualitative study explored the perspectives of 27 parents in the United States who had acute or chronic Lyme-related diagnoses while pregnant. Semi-structured interviews were coded and thematically analyzed. Six themes characterized positive patient\u2013physician interactions: (1) validation of patient experiences, (2) transparency, (3) willingness to learn, (4) shared decision making, (5) empathy, and (6) continuity of care. These findings offer guidance for clinicians counseling patients facing prognostic uncertainty related to Lyme disease and similarly complex conditions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens15040419","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T10:19:14Z","timestamp":1776075554000},"page":"419","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Promoting a Positive Relationship Between Physicians and Patients with Lyme Disease During Pregnancy and Parenthood"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-7918-4152","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emma T.","family":"Hickman","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Zickler Family Prenatal Pediatrics Institute, Children\u2019s National Hospital, Washington, DC 20010, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4346-0117","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Meagan E.","family":"Williams","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Zickler Family Prenatal Pediatrics Institute, Children\u2019s National Hospital, Washington, DC 20010, USA"},{"name":"Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Children\u2019s National Hospital, Washington, DC 20010, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Roberta L.","family":"DeBiasi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Children\u2019s National Hospital, Washington, DC 20010, USA"},{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC 20037, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8084-526X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sarah B.","family":"Mulkey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Zickler Family Prenatal Pediatrics Institute, Children\u2019s National Hospital, Washington, DC 20010, USA"},{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC 20037, USA"},{"name":"Department of Neurology, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC 20037, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"137","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cll.2024.10.008","article-title":"Epidemiology and Diagnosis of Lyme Disease in the United States","volume":"45","author":"Nielsen","year":"2025","journal-title":"Clin. 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