Table 2.
Demographic, infant, maternal and paternal characteristics of study population
| Characteristic | N = 140 n (%) |
National Indigenous population (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Sex | ||
| Male | 71 (50.7) | 50.9 [27] |
| Female | 69 (49.3) | 49.1 [27] |
| Care type | ||
| Both parents | 80 (57.1) | 54.7 [28] |
| Single parent | 51 (36.4) | 45.3 [28] |
| Othera | 8 (5.7) | |
| Missing | 1 (0.7) | |
| Primary carer | ||
| Mother | 115 (82.1) | |
| Otherb | 16 (11.4) | |
| Missing | 9 (6.4) | |
| Childcarec | ||
| Yes | 35 (25.0) | 21.7f [29] |
| No | 104 (74.3) | |
| Missing | 1 (0.7) | |
| Study clinic is usual health care provider | ||
| Yes | 131 (93.6) | N/A |
| No | 0 (0.0) | N/A |
| Missing | 9 (6.4) | N/A |
| Educational level of father | ||
| Did not finish high school | 63 (45.0) | 58.0g [30] |
| High school | 37 (26.4) | 16.0g [30] |
| Post-school qualificationd | 16 (11.4) | 25.9g [30] |
| Missing | 24 (17.1) | |
| Educational level of mother | ||
| Did not finish high school | 54 (38.6) | |
| High school | 66 (47.1) | |
| Post-school qualificationd | 16 (11.4) | |
| Missing | 4 (0.3) | |
| Employment status of father | ||
| Employede | 60 (42.9) | 49.7h [30] |
| Unemployed | 57 (40.7) | 50.3h [17] |
| Missing | 23 (16.4) | |
| Employment status of mother | ||
| Employede | 17 (12.1) | 43.0h [30] |
| Unemployed | 121 (86.4) | 57.0h [30] |
| Missing | 2 (1.4) | |
| Income level | ||
| < $26000 | 44 (31.4) | 35.2i [31] |
| $26000 - < $52000 | 56 (40.0) | 34.3 i [31] |
| $52000 - < $78000 | 23 (16.4) | 8.9i [31] |
| ≥ $78000 | 11 (7.9) | 4.0i [31] |
| Missing | 6 (4.3) | |
| Multiple birth | ||
| Singleton | 134 (95.7) | 98.5j [32] |
| Multiple | 1 (0.7) | 1.5j [32] |
| Missing | 5 (3.6) | |
| Mdn (IQR) | Mean/Mdn | |
| Number of children in household (N = 138) | 2.0 (3.0-1.0) | |
| Age of mother at birth of child (in years) (N = 138) | 24.0 (29.0-20.0) | 25.2k [33] |
| Age of father at birth of child (in years) (N = 135) | 26.0 (33.0-23.0) | 27.9k [33] |
| Gestational age (in weeks) (N = 137) | 40.0 (40.0-38.0) | 38.2m [33] |
| Birth weight (in grams) (N = 137) | 3200.0 (3628.0-2770.0) | 3200 m [33] |
aOther = shared, other relative, other non-family member (including government care); bOther = Father, Mother and Father, Grandparent, Grandparent and Father, Other non-family; cChildcare = formal regulated daytime care provided in a group setting, includes private or community centres and family day care; dPost-school qualification = Certificate, Diploma, Bachelor Degree; eEmployed = Full Time, Part Time, Casual; fIncludes children aged 0–4 years exclusively attending formal childcare and children aged 0–4 years attending both formal and informal childcare; gData represents both males and females; hUnemployed = those not participating in the labour force and those participating in the labour force but without work; iCategories of income levels presented for national data differ from categories used in study and are as follows: <$20800, $20800- < $52000, $52000- < $78000, ≥$78000; jData represents all Australian women, not solely Indigenous Australian women; kMedian value; mMean value