International Journal of
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Review Article Volume 12 Issue 2
Partner mental health as a mediating force in the care of infants with congenital anomalies
Prativa Choudhury, Prabudh Goel
Received: April 28, 2026 | Published: May 12, 2026
Citation: Choudhury P, Goel P. Partner mental health as a mediating force in the care of infants with congenital anomalies. Pregnancy & Child Birth. 2026;12(2):48-53. DOI: 10.15406/ipcb.2026.12.00340
Abstract
Congenital anomalies affect approximately three to six percent of all live births worldwide and their impact on the mental health of mothers has been increasingly recognised over the past two decades. Yet a persistent blind spot runs through this literature: the fathers, partners and co-caregivers who stand beside these mothers every single day. When a partner is psychologically unravelling silently, without clinical acknowledgement, the mother loses her most proximal source of support at precisely the moment she needs it most. This study argues that partner mental health is not a secondary concern in congenital anomaly care it is a mediating variable in maternal outcomes. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of ambiguous loss, disenfranchised grief and dyadic coping and on evidence from perinatal psychiatry and neonatal care research, the mechanisms through which unaddressed partner distress compounds maternal psychological burden have been mapped. A three-zone Dyadic Burden Model has been proposed as a clinical organising framework, existing validated assessment tools are reviewed and practical recommendations for couple-inclusive care pathways are outlined. The family is an ecosystem. Until it is treated as one, interventions will remain structurally incomplete.
Keywords: congenital anomalies, psychological uncertainty, childhood, foetal anomaly
©2026 Choudhury, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.