Table 1.
Participant demographic and clinical characteristics by tertiles of maternal HEI–2015 total scores during the third trimester of pregnancy (n = 329).
| Participant Characteristics | HEI–2015 Tertiles (T) a | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | T1 (n = 109) | T2 (n = 110) | T3 (n = 110) | ||
| N (%) or Mean ± SD | p-Value | ||||
| Study site | 0.47 | ||||
| Minnesota | 233 (66) | 69 (63) | 72 (65) | 78 (71) | |
| Oklahoma | 121 (34) | 40 (37) | 38 (35) | 32 (29) | |
| Age, years | 30.9 ± 4.1 | 30.2 ± 4.3 | 30.7 ± 4.4 | 31.4 ± 3.7 | 0.1 |
| Race | 0.71 | ||||
| White | 299 (86) | 92 (85) | 93 (87) | 97 (89) | |
| Other | 49 (14) | 16 (15) | 14 (13) | 12 (11) | |
| Education | <0.001 * | ||||
| High school/GED/Associates degree | 80 (24) | 37 (36) | 26 (24) | 11 (11) | |
| Bachelor’s degree | 136 (40) | 42 (41) | 38 (36) | 48 (46) | |
| Graduate degree | 121 (36) | 24 (23) | 42 (40) | 45 (43) | |
| Household income | 0.19 | ||||
| <$60,000 | 105 (31) | 37 (36) | 34 (32) | 25 (24) | |
| $60,000–90,000 | 85 (25) | 30 (29) | 24 (23) | 27 (26) | |
| >90,000 | 147 (44) | 36 (35) | 48 (45) | 52 (50) | |
| Parity | 0.01 * | ||||
| 0 | 146 (42) | 33 (31) | 54 (50) | 52 (47) | |
| ≥1 | 204 (58) | 74 (69) | 55 (50) | 58 (53) | |
| Pre-pregnancy BMI, kg/m2 | 26.4 ± 5.4 | 27.2 ± 6.2 | 26.4 ± 4.9 | 25.5 ± 5.0 | 0.06 |
| Gestational weight gain | 0.23 | ||||
| Below or within IOM guidelines | 200 (57) | 54 (501) | 67 (62) | 63 (57) | |
| Exceeding IOM guidelines | 149 (43) | 53 (50) | 41 (38) | 47 (43) | |
| Energy intake during pregnancy | 1827 ± 530 | 1747 ± 550 | 1876 ± 535 | 1859 ± 498 | 0.15 |
| Mode of delivery | 0.39 | ||||
| Vaginal | 278 (80) | 90 (83) | 82 (76) | 87 (81) | |
| Caesarean section | 70 (20) | 18 (17) | 26 (24) | 21 (19) | |
| HEI–2015 score during third trimester of pregnancy | 67.2 ± 8.7 | 57.5 ± 5.8 | 67.8 ± 2.1 | 76.1 ± 4.0 | <0.001 * |
| HEI–2015 score at one month postpartum | 65.9 ± 8.4 | 60.6 ± 7.5 | 65.2 ± 7.0 | 71.2 ± 7.6 | <0.001 * |
| HEI–2015 score at three months postpartum | 66.1 ± 8.7 | 60.5 ± 7.9 | 65.3 ± 7.2 | 71.5 ± 7.4 | <0.001 * |
| Duration of exclusive breastfeeding | |||||
| one month | 21 (7) | 7 (7) | 10 (10) | 2 (2) | 0.16 |
| three months | 58 (18) | 20 (22) | 16 (16) | 20 (19) | |
| six months | 235 (75) | 65 (71) | 74 (74) | 81 (79) | |
| Infant gestational age, weeks | 39.8 ± 1.1 | 39.7 ± 1.0 | 39.6 ± 1.1 | 40.0 ± 1.1 | 0.04 * |
| Infant sex | 0.84 | ||||
| Male | 178 (50) | 53 (49) | 57 (52) | 53 (48) | |
| Female | 176 (50) | 56 (51) | 53 (48) | 57 (52) | |
Abbreviations: HEI = Healthy Eating Index; BMI = Body Mass Index; IOM = Institute of Medicine. a HEI–2015 T1: ≤63.9; T2: 64.0–70.9; T3: ≥70.9. * p < 0.05 for tests of differences in participant characteristics by tertiles of maternal HEI–2015 total scores during pregnancy using chi-square and one-way ANOVAs for categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Data are presented as mean ± SD or column percentages.