Table 1.
Descriptive Statistics
| Full Sample | Medicaid | Private HI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maternal characteristics | |||
| Age | 27.97 (6.03) | 25.65 (5.82) | 30.14 (5.38) |
| Race = White (%) | 77.04 (42.06) | 71.11 (45.33) | 82.19 (38.26) |
| Race = Black (%) | 15.72 (36.40) | 23.22 (42.23) | 8.69 (28.17) |
| Race = American Indian/Alaska Native (%) | 0.99 (9.89) | 1.54 (12.32) | 0.47 (6.83) |
| Race = Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | 6.47 (24.59) | 4.13 (19.89) | 8.65 (28.12) |
| Hispanic (%) | 33.42 (47.17) | 40.12 (49.01) | 27.14 (44.47) |
| Education <HS (%) | 17.29 (37.82) | 30.60 (46.08) | 4.83 (21.45) |
| Education = HS (%) | 25 (43.30) | 36.27 (48.08) | 14.46 (35.17) |
| Education = Some college (%) | 28.56 (45.17) | 27.45 (44.62) | 29.61 (45.65) |
| Education = College+ (%) | 29.14 (45.44) | 5.69 (23.17) | 51.10 (49.99) |
| Married (%) | 59.1 (49.17) | 34.44 (47.52) | 82.19 (38.26) |
| Had prenatal care (%) | 95.21 (21.36) | 94.14 (23.49) | 96.19 (19.16) |
| Smoked before pregnancy (%) | 10.74 (30.96) | 15.94 (36.61) | 5.86 (23.49) |
| Smoked during pregnancy (%) | 8.04 (27.20) | 12.85 (33.47) | 3.55 (18.5) |
| No. of previous births | 1.52 (1.68) | 1.70 (1.8) | 1.34 (1.55) |
| Had any risk factors* (%) | 27.1 (44.44) | 26.22 (43.98) | 27.93 (44.87) |
| Had any maternal morbidities† (%) | 1.47 (12.02) | 1.19 (10.84) | 1.73 (13.03) |
| Had any infections present‡ (%) | 2.41 (15.33) | 3.96 (19.5) | 0.96 (9.75) |
| Infant/birth characteristics | |||
| Breastfed at discharge (%) | 62.99 (48.28) | 55.47 (49.7) | 70.04 (45.81) |
| Baby boy (%) | 51.17 (49.99) | 51.08 (49.99) | 51.25 (49.98) |
| Hospital birth (%) | 99.42 (0.08) | 99.59 (6.4) | 99.26 (8.55) |
| Singletons (%) | 96.49 (18.41) | 97.31 (16.17) | 95.71 (20.26) |
| Twins (%) | 3.38 (18.08) | 2.63 (15.99) | 4.09 (19.81) |
| Weeks of gestation | 38.61 (3.18) | 38.55 (3.32) | 38.66 (3.06) |
| 5‐minute APGAR (0–10) | 8.79 (0.83) | 8.77 (0.87) | 8.81 (0.78) |
| Cesarean delivery (%) | 33.21 (47.14) | 31.71 (46.54) | 34.57 (47.56) |
| Any abnormal newborn conditions§ (%) | 9.87 (29.82) | 10.38 (30.5) | 9.39 (29.17) |
| Any congenital anomalies¶ (%) | 0.29 (5.35) | 0.29 (5.35) | 0.29 (5.35) |
| N | 17,985,584 | 8,698,072 | 9,287,512 |
| % of all births** | 88.90% | 42.99% | 45.91% |
Means are statistically different across Medicaid and privately insured births on all measures at the 5% level or better, except for the presence of any congenital anomalies. Full sample includes all Medicaid and private health insurance births from 2009 to 2014. Mothers in this sample ranged from 12 to 50 years of age.
*Any risk factors equal one if the mother had any of the following conditions/treatments: prepregnancy diabetes, gestational diabetes, prepregnancy hypertension, gestational hypertension, eclampsia, previous preterm birth, previous poor pregnancy outcome, infertility treatment, fertility enhancing drugs, assistive reproductive technology, and any previous Cesarean deliveries.
†Any maternal morbidity equals one if the mother had any of the following complications with the labor/delivery: transfusion, perineal laceration, ruptured uterus, unplanned hysterectomy, admission to intensive care, or an unplanned operation.
‡Any maternal infections present equals one if the mother had gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, Hepatitis B, or Hepatitis C.
§Any abnormal conditions of the newborn equals one if the infant had assisted ventilation (and whether that is greater than 6 hours), admission to NICU, surfactant, antibiotics, seizures, or birth injury.
¶Any congenital anomalies equals one if the infant had anencephaly, meningomyelocele/spina bifida, cyanotic congenital heart disease, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, omphalocele, gastroschisis, limb reduction defect, cleft lip palate, down syndrome, suspected chromosomal disorder, and hypospadias.
**Total births with non‐missing source of payment and breastfeeding initiation measures.