Table 1.
Characteristics of participants
| Variable | Pregnant women (N = 152) | Postpartum women (N = 153) | χ2 | p | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | (%) | n | (%) | |||
| Age (years)++, Mean (SD) | 26.3 | (6.6) | 26.1 | (6.3) | ||
| < 25 | 73 | (48.0) | 75 | (49.0) | 0.01 | 0.91 |
| ≥ 25 | 65 | (42.8) | 65 | (42.5) | ||
| Education level++ | ||||||
| Illiterate | 24 | (15.8) | 29 | (19.0) | 0.66 | 0.72 |
| Primary school | 99 | (65.1) | 94 | (61.4) | ||
| Secondary and higher | 28 | (18.4) | 30 | (19.6) | ||
| Employment status++ | ||||||
| Unemployed | 23 | (15.1) | 13 | (8.5) | 3.30 | 0.07 |
| Employed | 128 | (84.2) | 140 | (91.5) | ||
| Income per month | ||||||
| < MK20,000 | 115 | (75.7) | 125 | (81.7) | 1.66 | 0.20 |
| MK20,000~ 50,000 | 37 | (24.3) | 28 | (18.3) | ||
| Parity | ||||||
| Nulliparous | 30 | (19.7) | 43 | (28.1) | 2.93 | 0.09 |
| Multiparous | 122 | (80.3) | 110 | (71.9) | ||
| Preferred MODa/Actual MODb++ | ||||||
| Caesarean delivery | 3 | (2.0) | 10 | (6.5) | 3.70 | 0.05 |
| Normal vaginal birth | 145 | (95.4) | 143 | (93.5) | ||
| Perineal tears++ | ||||||
| Yes | ~ | ~ | 20 | (13.1) | ~ | ~ |
| No | 127 | (83.0) | ||||
| Past pregnancy complications++ | ||||||
| Yes | 33 | (21.7) | 44 | (28.8) | 2.10 | 0.15 |
| No | 119 | (78.2) | 108 | (70.6) | ||
| Social support, Mean (SD) | 5.7 | (0.9) | 5.4 | (0.9) | ||
| Low/Moderate | 35 | (23.0) | 47 | (30.7) | 2.30 | 0.13 |
| High | 117 | (77.0) | 106 | (69.3) | ||
SD, Standard deviation; a Preferred Mode of Birth for pregnant women; b Actual Mode of Birth for postpartum women; MK Malawi Kwacha currency (US$1 ≈ Malawi Kwacha (MK)725); ++Total amounts do not either add up to n = 152 (100%) for pregnant women or n = 153 (100%) for postpartum women