Table 3.
Participant characteristics by parity compared to state and national birthing populations
| Characteristics | Nulliparous women | Multiparous women | Total sample | State birthing population | National birthing population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 609 | n = 801 | n = 1,410 | n = 61,020 | n = 294,814 | |
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
| Age yrs Mean (SD, range) | 28.8 yrs (5.2, 17 to 42) | 30.1 yrs (5.2, 18 to 51) | 28.8 yrs (5.5, 17 to 51) | 29.2 yrs (ns, <20 to >40)a | 30 yrs (ns,<15 to 60)a |
| Missing | - | 1 ( 0.1) | 1 (0.1) | - | 74 (0.0)a |
| Marital status | |||||
| Single/divorced/separated | 38 ( 6.2) | 59 ( 7.4) | 97 (6.8) | 7,334 (11.9)b | - |
| Married/defacto/relationship | 566 (93.0) | 741 (92.5) | 1307 (92.8) | 52,834 (86.5)b | 64% (All)c |
| Missing/Other | 5 (0.8) | 1 (0.1) | 6 (0.4) | 937 (1.5)b | |
| Education | 606 (99.5) | 800 (99.9) | 1406 (99.7) | - | - |
| ≤Year 12 | 307 (50.4) | 395 (49.3) | 702 (49.8) | - | - |
| Post Year 12 | 299 (49.1) | 405 (50.6) | 704 (49.9) | - | - |
| Missing | 3 (0.5) | 1 (0.1) | 4 (0.3) | ||
| Employment | 605 (99.3) | 798 (99.6) | 1403 (99.5) | ||
| Full time/part-time | 519 (85.2) | 498 (62.2) | 1017 (72.1) | 1,474,107 (74)c | 7,203,234 (73)c |
| No paid work | 86 (14.1) | 300 (37.4) | 386 (27.4) | 507,319 (26)c | 2,652,926 (27)c |
| Missing | 4 (0.7) | 3 (0.4) | 7 (0.5) | ||
| Income | 570 (93.6) | 769 (96.0) | 1339 (95.0) | ||
| <$52,000 | 170 (28.0) | 239 (29.8) | 409 (29.0) | 569,175 (41)c | 2,844,563 (41)c |
| ≥$52,000 | 400 (65.6) | 530 (66.2) | 930 (66.0) | 1,390,246 (59)c | 6,935,474 (59)c |
| Missing | 39 (6.4) | 32 (4.0) | 71 (5.0) | ||
| Country of birth | |||||
| Australia | 455 (74.7) | 591 (73.8) | 1046 (74.2) | 47,190 (77.3)a | 210,382 (71.4)a |
| Other | 132 (21.7) | 193 (24.1) | 325 (23.0) | 13,792 (22.6)a | 82,740 (28.0)a |
| Missing | 22 (3.6 ) | 17 (2.1) | 39 (2.8) | 38 (0.1)a | 1,692 (0.6)a |
| Aboriginal Torres Straits Islander | 12 ( 2.0) | 15 (1.9) | 27 (1.9) | 3,504 (5.7)a | 11,494 (3.9)a |
| Missing | - | 2 (0.2) | 2 (0.1) | - | 792 (0.3)a |
| BMI Mean (SD, range)a = Mean (n,%) | 26.2 (5.9, 15.8 to 59.2) | 27.0 (6.4, 13.4 to 78.4) | 26.7 (6.2, 13.4 to 78.4) | 25.9 (59,522, 97.5)a | 26.0 (79,432, 82.4)a |
| <18.5 n (%) | 10 (1.6) | 11 (1.4) | 29 (2.0) | 2,625 (4.4)a | 3,273 (4.1)a |
| 18.5 – 24.9 n (%) | 296 (48.6) | 327 (40.8) | 615 (43.6) | 27,262 (45.8)a | 36,488 (45.9)a |
| 25.0 - 29.9 n (%) | 154 (25.3) | 221 (27.6) | 375 (26.6) | 16,419 (27.6)a | 21,851 (27.5)a |
| >30 n (%) | 110 (18.1) | 190 (23.7) | 300 (21.3) | 13,216 (22.2)a | 17,820 (22.4)a |
| Missing n (%) | 39 (6.4) | 52 (6.5) | 91 (6.5) | 1,498 (2.5)a | 16,930 (17.6)a |
| Obstetric factors | |||||
| Nulliparous | 609 (100) | - | 609 (43.2) | 24,876 (40.8)a | 93,482 (42.1)a |
| Multiparous | - | 801 (100) | 801 (56.8) | 36,144 (59.2)a | 128,608 (57.9)a |
| Characteristics of last birth | |||||
| Non operative vaginal | - | - | 522 (65.2) | 35,071 (57.5)a | 166,208 (56.4)a |
| Operative vaginal | - | - | 78 (9.7) | 5,892 ( 9.7)a | 35,405 (12.0)a |
| Caesarean section | - | - | 194 (24.2) | 20,057 (32.9)a | 93,157 (31.6)a |
| Labour/CS | - | - | 131 (16.4) | 7,450 (12.2)a | 38,274 (13.0)a |
| No labour/CS | - | - | 63 (7.9) | 12,607 (20.7)a | 54,876 (18.6)a |
| Missing | - | - | 7 (0.9) | - | 51 (0.0)a |
| Last Birth Pre-term | - | - | 57 (7.1) | 4,754 (7.8)a | 22,004 (7.5)a |
| Last Birth Term | - | - | 737 (92.1) | 56,260 (92.2)a | 272,760 (92.5)a |
| Missing | - | - | 6 (0.8) | 6 (0.0)a | 50 (0.0)a |
| Live born | - | - | 784 (97.9) | 61,612 (98.9)a | 297,357 (99.3)a |
| Stillborn | - | - | 7 (0.87) | 413 ( 0.7)a | 2,206 (0.7)a |
| Neonatal death | - | - | 3 (0.4) | 235 (0.4)a | 641 (0.2)a |