Table 1. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the sample compared to the eligible birthing population.
| Study Sample (n = 134) |
Eligible Birthing Population (n = 3174) |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | p-value | |
| Maternal Age | |||
| 18–24 years | 3 (2.2) | 254 (7.8) | <0.001 |
| 25–35 years | 81 (60.4) | 1947 (59.9) | |
| 35–44 years | 49 (36.6) | 1027 (31.6) | |
| 45–54 years | 1 (0.7) | 12 (0.4) | |
| BMI | |||
| <18.50 | 7 (5.3) | 167 (5.3) | .774 |
| 18.50–24.99 | 81 (60.4) | 1857 (59.3) | |
| 25.00–29.99 | 28 (20.9) | 626 (20.0) | |
| ≥30 | 16 (11.9) | 482 (15.4) | |
| Missing | 2 | 42 | |
| Ethnicity | |||
| Caucasian/European | 102 (76.1) | 1876 (59.4) | < .001 |
| Other | 32 (23.9) | 1282 (40.6) | |
| Missing | 0 | 16 | |
| Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander | 0 (0.0) | 78 (2.5) | N/A |
| Missing | 0 | 16 | |
| IRSAD score | |||
| Quintile 1 –most disadvantaged | 6 (4.5) | 229 (7.3) | .022 |
| Quintile 2 | 3 (2.3) | 219 (6.9) | |
| Quintile 3 | 4 (3.0) | 147 (4.7) | |
| Quintile 4 | 17 (12.8) | 535 (17.0) | |
| Quintile 5 –most advantaged | 103 (77.4) | 2025 (64.2) | |
| Reside outside QLD | 1 | 15 | |
| Missing | 0 | 4 | |
| Healthcare funding | |||
| Public | 63 (47.0) | 1859 (58.6) | .006 |
| Private | 71 (53.0) | 1315 (41.4) | |
| Mode of birth | |||
| Unassisted vaginal birth | 65 (48.5) | 1508 (47.6) | .982 |
| Instrumental vaginal birth | 18 (13.4) | 429 (13.6) | |
| Elective caesarean birth | 35 (26.1) | 813 (25.7) | |
| Emergency caesarean birth | 16 (11.9) | 416 (13.1) | |
| Missing | 0 | 8 | |
| Parity | |||
| Primiparous | 64 (47.8) | 1467 (46.2) | .725 |
| Multiparous | 70 (52.2) | 1700 (53.7) | |
| Missing | 0 | 7 | |
| Onset of labour | |||
| Spontaneous | 46 (34.3) | 1218 (38.5) | .565 |
| Induced | 53 (39.6) | 1135 (35.8) | |
| No labour (elective caesarean birth) | 35 (26.1) | 813 (25.7) | |
| Missing | 0 | 8 | |
| Fetal presentation at birth | |||
| Vertex | 125 (93.3) | 2972 (93.7) | .843 |
| Breech or Other | 9 (6.7) | 201 (6.3) | |
| Missing | 0 | 1 | |
| Episiotomy | 26 (19.4) | 510 (16.1) | .298 |
| Neonatal admission to SCN or NICU | 10 (7.5) | 329 (10.4) | .265 |
| Missing | 0 | 5 | |
| M (SD) | M (SD) | ||
| Gestation at birth (weeks) | 38.7 (2.3) | 38.3 (2.4) | .035 |
| Missing | 0 | 1 | |
| Maternal volume of blood loss (mL) | 401.9 (356.6) | 391.9 (337.2) | .746 |
| Missing | 0 | 14 | |
| Maternal length of hospital stay (days) | 3.1 (1.6) | 2.8 (1.7) | .116 |
| Missing | 0 | 25 |
BMI, Body Mass Index; IRSAD, Index of Relative Socio-Economic Advantage and Disadvantage; M, Mean; N/A, not available; NICU, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. QLD, Queensland; SCN, Special Care Nursery; SD, Standard deviation.