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Parenting an Infant with a Congenital Anomaly: How are Perceived Burden and Perceived Personal Benefits Related to Parenting Stress?

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Abstract

This study aimed to characterize parents’ negative (perceived burden) and positive (perceived personal benefits) perceptions about parenting an infant with a congenital anomaly (CA), and to investigate their role in parenting stress. Forty-three couples (43 mothers and 36 fathers) whose 6-month-old infants had a CA completed several questionnaires: the Impact on Family Scale-Revised, the Positive Contributions Scale, and the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form. The results showed similarities between maternal and paternal perceptions. For mothers, higher levels of burden and lower levels of personal benefits were found to predict higher levels of parenting stress. For fathers, greater burden was associated with higher levels of parenting stress. Some dimensions of personal benefits moderated the relationship between burden and parenting stress, for both genders. Specific strategies targeting negative and positive perceptions should be considered when developing psychological interventions to promote the family’s adaptation to the experience of parenting an infant with a CA.

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Acknowledgments

This study is part of the “Reproductive decisions and transition to parenthood after a pre- or postnatal diagnosis of congenital anomaly” research project, integrated in the Relationships, Development & Health Research Group of the R&D Unit Cognitive-Behavioral Center for Research and Intervention (CINEICC) of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra (PEst-OE/PSI/UI0730/2014). Ana Fonseca and Bárbara Nazaré were supported by Ph.D. Scholarships from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BD/47053/2008, SFRH/BD/43204/2008, respectively). The authors wish to thank the services that enabled the sample collection: Pediatric Cardiology Service of the Pediatric Hospital – Centro Hospitalar de Coimbra (parents of babies with congenital heart disease) and the Obstetrics and Neonatology Departments - Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra (the remaining participants).

Conflict of Interest

Ana Fonseca, Bárbara Nazaré and Maria Cristina Canavarro declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

The procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Ana Fonseca, Bárbara Nazaré & Maria Cristina Canavarro

  2. Grupo de investigação “Relações, Desenvolvimento & Saúde”, Rua do Colégio Novo, Apartado 6153, Coimbra, 3001-802, Portugal

    Ana Fonseca

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  1. Ana Fonseca
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Correspondence to Ana Fonseca.

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Fonseca, A., Nazaré, B. & Canavarro, M.C. Parenting an Infant with a Congenital Anomaly: How are Perceived Burden and Perceived Personal Benefits Related to Parenting Stress?. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 22, 64–76 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-015-9418-7

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