Table 1:
Univariate comparison of people who received labor neuraxial analgesia and people who did not (45 US states and District of Columbia, 2017).
| Missing | No neuraxial analgesia n = 382,573 | Neuraxial analgesia n = 1,358,143 | Absolute standardized difference (*) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||
| Sociodemographic characteristics | ||||
|
| ||||
| Age (year) | 0 | 0.055 | ||
| ≤ 19 | 15,803 (4.1%) | 68,089 (5.0%) | ||
| 20-29 | 187,109 (48.9%) | 680,983 (50.1%) | ||
| 30-39 | 169,385 (44.3%) | 574,473 (42.3%) | ||
| ≥ 40 | 10,276 (2.7%) | 34,598 (2.5%) | ||
|
| ||||
| Non-Hispanic Black race and ethnicity | 0 | 99,915 (26.1%) | 296,388 (21.8%) | 0.101 |
|
| ||||
| Education level | 10,672 (0.6%) | 0.126 | ||
| Less than high school | 7646 (2.0%) | 10,422 (0.8%) | ||
| High school with no diploma | 30,877 (8.1%) | 94,574 (7.0%) | ||
| High school graduate or general educational diploma | 94,697 (25.0%) | 317,267 (23.5%) | ||
| College and higher | 246,217 (64.9%) | 928,344 (68.7%) | ||
|
| ||||
| Health insurance | 10,807 (0.6%) | 0.143 | ||
| Medicaid | 156,981 (41.4%) | 495,069 (36.7%) | ||
| Private | 197,251 (52.0%) | 785,697 (58.2%) | ||
| Self-pay | 11,847 (3.1%) | 23,708 (1.8%) | ||
| Other | 13,541 (3.6%) | 45,815 (3.4%) | ||
|
| ||||
| Comorbidites | ||||
|
| ||||
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 41,463 (2.4%) | 0.102 | ||
| ≤ 18.4 | 14,645 (4.0%) | 43,851 (3.3%) | ||
| 18.5-24.9 | 180,280 (48.7%) | 596,345 (44.9%) | ||
| 25.0-29.9 | 91,312 (24.6%) | 337,706 (25.4%) | ||
| 30.0-34.9 | 46,831 (12.6%) | 186,225 (14.0%) | ||
| ≥ 35 | 37,476 (10.1%) | 164,582 (12.4%) | ||
|
| ||||
| Preexisting diabetes | 965 (0.1%) | 1988 (0.5%) | 10,621 (0.8%) | 0.033 |
|
| ||||
| Gestational diabetes | 965 (0.1%) | 16,614 (4.3%) | 74,772 (5.5%) | 0.054 |
|
| ||||
| Preexisting hypertension | 965 (0.1%) | 5599 (1.5%) | 291,46 (2.1%) | 0.051 |
|
| ||||
| Gestational hypertension | 965 (0.1%) | 17,024 (4.5%) | 102,851 (7.6%) | 0.132 |
|
| ||||
| Pregnancy, labor, and delivery | ||||
|
| ||||
| Previous cesarean section | 965 (0.1%) | 18,469 (4.8%) | 125,271 (9.2%) | 0.173 |
|
| ||||
| Month prenatal care began | 44,744 (2.6%) | 0.140 | ||
| 1st -3rd | 279,722 (75.5%) | 1,063,855 (80.3%) | ||
| 4th -6th | 62,574 (16.9%) | 193,024 (14.6%) | ||
| ≥ 7th | 17,622 (4.8%) | 51,188 (3.9%) | ||
| No prenatal care | 10,532 (2.8%) | 17,455 (1.3%) | ||
|
| ||||
| Number of prenatal visits | 43,967 (2.5%) | 6.6 (sd, 2.0) | 7.0 (sd, 1.9) | 0.172 |
|
| ||||
| Delivery during a weekend | 0 | 106,141 (27.7%) | 367,635 (27.1%) | 0.015 |
|
| ||||
| Mother transferred in | 405 (<0.1%) | 2043 (0.5%) | 5320 (0.4%) | 0.021 |
|
| ||||
| Nulliparous | 5994 (0.3%) | 99,678 (26.2%) | 496,843 (36.7%) | 0.228 |
|
| ||||
| Gestational age at delivery | 726 (<0.1%) | 0.088 | ||
| ≤ 33 completed weeks | 13,641 (3.6%) | 29,108 (2.1%) | ||
| 34-38 completed weeks | 120,077 (31.4%) | 419,649 (30.9%) | ||
| ≥ 39 completed weeks | 248,363 (65.0%) | 909,152 (67.0%) | ||
|
| ||||
| Non-cephalic presentation | 3399 (0.2%) | 7319 (1.9%) | 36,048 (2.7%) | 0.050 |
|
| ||||
| Induction of labor | 0 | 79,876 (20.9%) | 491,048 (36.2%) | 0.343 |
|
| ||||
| Augmentation of labor | 0 | 62,865 (16.4%) | 379,565 (27.9%) | 0.280 |
|
| ||||
| Antibiotics received during labor | 0 | 75,318 (19.7%) | 443,117 (32.6%) | 0.298 |
|
| ||||
| Chorioamnionitis | 0 | 1858 (0.5%) | 26,170 (1.9%) | 0.132 |
|
| ||||
| Attendant at birth | 690 (<0.1%) | 0.306 | ||
| Doctor of Medicine | 277,115 (72.5%) | 1,121,466 (82.6%) | ||
| Doctor of Osteopathy | 30,528 (8.0%) | 114,174 (8.4%) | ||
| Midwife | 70,538 (18.4%) | 115,301 (8.5%) | ||
| Other | 4140 (1.1%) | 6764 (0.5%) | ||
|
| ||||
| Delivery mode | 0 | 0.453 | ||
| Spontaneous vaginal delivery | 343,476 (89.8%) | 986,529 (72.6%) | ||
| Assisted vaginal delivery | 8269 (2.2%) | 56,595 (4.2%) | ||
| Intrapartum cesarean delivery | 30,828 (8.1%) | 315,019 (23.2%) | ||
|
| ||||
| Birth weight (grams) | 977 (0.1%) | 0.073 | ||
| <2500 grams | 28,664 (7.5%) | 78,257 (5.8%) | ||
| 2500-4000 grams | 323,985 (84.8%) | 1,165,459 (85.8%) | ||
| > 4000 grams | 29,433 (7.7%) | 113,941 (8.4%) | ||
|
| ||||
| Characteristics of the county of the delivery hospital | ||||
|
| ||||
| Core base statistical area classification (†) | 0 | 0.137 | ||
| Metropolitan | 334,522 (87.4%) | 1,241,147 (91.4%) | ||
| Micropolitan | 38,702 (10.1%) | 100,836 (7.4%) | ||
| Non-metropolitan and non-micropolitan | 9349 (2.4%) | 16,160 (1.2%) | ||
|
| ||||
| Number of in-hospital births (†) | 0 | 12,515 (sd, 18,891) | 13,725 (sd, 18,728) | 0.064 |
|
| ||||
| Number of physician anesthesiologists (per 1000 hospital births) (†) | 0 | 12.5 (sd, 9.1) | 13.4 (sd, 9.1) | 0.055 |
|
| ||||
| Number of certified registered nurse anesthetists (per 1000 hospital births) (†) | 0 | 15.4 (sd, 14.4) | 15.8 (sd, 14.7) | 0.031 |
|
| ||||
| Number of obstetricians and gynecologists (per 1000 hospital births) (†) | 0 | 10.9 (sd, 6.2) | 11.2 (sd, 6.0) | 0.053 |
|
| ||||
| Proportion of non-Hispanic Black residents (%) (†) | 0 | 14.5 (sd, 14.0) | 15.3 (sd, 13.7) | 0.061 |
|
| ||||
| Proportion of residents with less than high school diploma (%) (†) | 0 | 7.6 (sd, 3.0) | 7.5 (sd, 2.8) | 0.031 |
|
| ||||
| Proportion of unemployed residents (%) (†) | 0 | 3.3 (sd, 0.9) | 3.2 (sd, 0.8) | 0.044 |
|
| ||||
| Jail incarceration rate (per 100,000 residents) (‡) | 0 | 351 (sd, 233) | 355 (sd, 281) | 0.014 |
Results are presented as count (%) or mean (1 standard deviation). An absolute standardized difference greater than 0.10 (10.0%) indicates a clinically relevant imbalance between groups.
(*)
Bolded values indicate absolute standardized difference greater than 0.10.
(†)
Data are from the Area Health Resource File for the year 2017 or the 2013-2017 period.
(‡)
Data are from the Vera Institute of Justice for the year 2017.