According to the pediatric medical traumatic stress model, pediatric medicalexperiences can create posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in pediatric patients and intheir parents and siblings. While the impact of traumatic medical experiences has beenstudied in parents of children with a variety of pediatric conditions, little is known abouthow the resulting PTSS may affect parenting. The relational PTSD model suggests thatsuboptimal parenting patterns can result from parental PTSS. One condition with highpotential for traumatic medical events is critical congenital heart disease (CHD), whichrequires open heart surgery during infancy. This qualitative study examined theexperience of parental PTSS and parenting in a sample of parents (N=12; 4 fathers, 8mothers) of children with critical CHD. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis,focus group data were analyzed to determine 1) the ways in which CHD has affectedparents’ lives; 2) the parents’ experience of PTSS related to CHD; 3) parenting patterns;and 4) the relationships between parental PTSS and parenting patterns. The followingthemes emerged: seeking/receiving social support, giving back, positive changes,overprotective and permissive parenting, and lasting effects of the traumatic medicalexperiences. Parents reported experiencing PTSS from all four PTSD symptom clusters.In addition, vicarious trauma and continuous traumatic stress were reported. Parents reportedparenting patterns of overprotection and permissiveness; overprotection was suggested bythe relational PTSD model. Finally, parenting a child with CHD was found to be agendered experience, with fathers and mothers reporting different experiences on avariety of themes. Clinical considerations include the importance of parent to parentsupport, the different experiences of fathers and mothers, and the need to screen for PTSSamong parents of children with CHD. Future research should consider quantitativestudies with larger samples to assess the relationship between PTSD and parenting in thispopulation.