Table 1. Comparison of Maternal and Infant Characteristics Among Different Modes of Delivery.
| Variable | No. (%) | P Valuea | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vaginal Delivery (n = 505) | Cesarean Delivery | |||
| Emergency (n = 148) | Elective (n = 74) | |||
| Maternal | ||||
| Ethnicity | ||||
| Chinese | 293 (58.0) | 76 (51.4) | 42 (56.8) | .63 |
| Malay | 127 (25.1) | 42 (28.4) | 17 (23.0) | |
| Indian | 85 (16.8) | 30 (20.3) | 15 (20.3) | |
| Maternal age at delivery, mean (SD) [range], y | 31.19 (5.03) [18.9-44.5] | 31.05 (5.44) [19.6-42.9] | 33.10 (5.12) [20.9-46.9] | .008 |
| Maternal education | ||||
| No formal education or primary or secondary education only | 151 (29.9) | 44 (29.7) | 21 (28.4) | .62 |
| Postsecondary | 173 (34.3) | 60 (40.5) | 26 (35.1) | |
| University | 181 (35.8) | 44 (29.7) | 27 (36.5) | |
| Parity | ||||
| 0 | 199 (39.4) | 91 (61.5) | 13 (17.6) | <.001 |
| ≥1 | 306 (60.6) | 57 (38.5) | 61 (82.4) | |
| Early pregnancy BMI status | ||||
| Underweight, BMI <18.5 | 48 (9.5) | 7 (4.7) | 5 (6.8) | .14 |
| Increasing but acceptable risk, BMI ≥18.5 and <23 | 239 (47.3) | 72 (48.6) | 28 (37.8) | |
| Increased risk, BMI ≥23 and <27.5 | 138 (27.3) | 38 (25.7) | 22 (29.7) | |
| High risk, BMI ≥27.5 | 80 (15.8) | 31 (20.9) | 19 (25.7) | |
| Active or passive smoking during pregnancy | ||||
| No | 290 (57.4) | 73 (49.3) | 44 (59.5) | .18 |
| Yes | 215 (42.6) | 75 (50.7) | 30 (40.5) | |
| Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy | ||||
| No | 477 (94.5) | 131 (88.5) | 73 (98.6) | .006 |
| Yes | 28 (5.5) | 17 (11.5) | 1 (1.4) | |
| Gestational diabetes mellitus | ||||
| No | 423 (83.8) | 120 (81.1) | 59 (79.7) | .57 |
| Yes | 82 (16.2) | 28 (18.9) | 15 (20.3) | |
| Intrapartum antibiotics | ||||
| No | 342 (67.7) | 76 (51.4) | 66 (89.2) | <.001 |
| Yes | 163 (32.3) | 72 (48.6) | 8 (10.8) | |
| Infant | ||||
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 260 (51.5) | 80 (54.1) | 32 (43.2) | .31 |
| Female | 245 (48.5) | 68 (45.9) | 42 (56.8) | |
| Sex-adjusted birth weight–for–gestational age z score, mean (SD) [range] | 0.11 (1.12) [−2.83 to 3.56] | 0.27 (1.39) [−3.07 to 8.65] | 0.44 (1.33) [−2.96 to 3.96] | .046 |
| Feeding during first 6 mo | ||||
| Exclusive breastfeeding | 73 (14.5) | 12 (8.1) | 11 (14.9) | .16 |
| Mixed feeding | 318 (63.0) | 91 (61.5) | 46 (62.2) | |
| Exclusive formula feeding | 114 (22.6) | 45 (30.4) | 17 (23.0) | |
| BAZ at 12 mo, mean (SD) [range] | −0.19 (1.00) [−3.62 to 2.65] | −0.19 (1.08) [−2.76 to 2.38] | 0.13 (1.11) [−2.78 to 2.22] | .04 |
| BMI status at 12 mo | ||||
| Not at risk of overweight, BAZ ≤1 SD | 439 (86.9) | 126 (85.1) | 56 (75.7) | .12 |
| At risk of overweight, BAZ >1 SD and ≤2 SDs | 55 (10.9) | 18 (12.2) | 16 (21.6) | |
| Overweight, BAZ >2 SD | 11 (2.2) | 4 (2.7) | 2 (2.7) | |
Abbreviations: BAZ, body mass index–for–age z score; BMI, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared).
a
χ2 or Fisher exact tests were used for categorical variables and 1-factor analysis of variance was used for continuous variables to compare the 3 groups.