TABLE 1—

Characteristics of Overall Sample and Surveyed Subsample of Women Delivering at 18 Hospitals, by Ethnicity: California, 1994–1995

	All Women, % (N = 22 304)	White, % (n = 5666)	Black, % (n = 2390)	Foreign-Born Latinas, % (n = 9097)	US-Born Latinas, % (n = 2592)	Asians, % (n = 2226)
Individual-level characteristics of overall sample
Age, y
<18	6	3	9	5	14	2
18–19	8	5	12	8	15	3
20–34	75	76	68	79	64	75
≥35	12	16	10	9	7	20
Mother's education
<High school	39	10	19	70	36	13
High school completed	30	36	44	20	39	28
>High school	31	54	38	10	25	59
Medi-Cal coverage	47	18	42	71	45	27
Parity
1	40	43	43	34	47	46
2–4	55	54	51	59	48	50
≥4	6	3	6	7	5	4
Received 1st trimester prenatal care	77	86	80	70	75	83
Infant birthweight, g (mean)	3380	3498	3184	3395	3369	3239
Low birthweight (<2500 g)	6	4	11	4	6	7
Neighborhooda characteristics of overall sample
>25% of residents were poor	21	4	33	32	21	10
>8% of adult men were unemployed	29	11	40	39	32	15
>40% of adults had less than high school education	37	5	34	62	40	14
Survey subsample characteristics		(n = 2005)	(n = 907)	(n = 3832)	(n = 950)	(n = 653)
Family income, % of poverty level
≤100		19	54	71	50	18
101–200		18	17	21	22	18
201–400		37	21	7	21	35
>400		26	7	1	6	29
Self-rated prepregnancy health was fair or poor		6		13	18	189
Felt neighborhood was unsafeb		11	14	11	12	9
Had no supportive personb		3	4	5	3	4
Smoked during pregnancyb		23	17	4	10	6

Note. Characteristics are expressed as percentages, except for mean birthweight. Data are from birth records with linked census data of 22 304 women who delivered in 18 California hospitals chosen for a statewide postpartum survey between August 1994 and July 1995. Subsample data are from interview data from subsample of 8457 women whose records were linked with birth records and census data; differences between overall sample and survey subsample are noted in text.

^aCensus block group.

^bVariable available for women in survey subsample with household income ≤400% poverty level.