AbstractThe partner relationship of 153 women hospitalized for a high‐risk pregnancy, 75 of their partners, 218 women who experienced a low‐risk pregnancy and 147 of their partners was studied to determine risk‐status or gender differences at pregnancy, the postpartal hospitalization, 1, 4, and 8 months following birth. A theoretical causal model predicting partner relationships was tested, followed by model respecification to derive the best explanatory model for each group. No differences were observed between low‐ and high‐risk mothers' partner relationship; however, high‐risk fathers scored lower than low‐risk fathers. Partner relationships for all groups were significantly higher during pregnancy and at birth than at 4 and 8 months after birth. Respecified models explained from 26% to 63% of the variance in partner relationship during pregnancy, and from 31% to 52% at 8 months after birth. © 1993 John W