Table 6.

Group differences on physical health (PH-PP) scores during pregnancy (baseline) and postpartum (26-weeks)

Characteristic	Groups	n	M (SD)	Mean Difference (95% CI)	t	df	p	Cohen’s d
Age
Pregnancy				0.11 (−0.07–0.29)	1.21	306	.23	0.17
	≥ 35	56	3.90 (0.69)
	< 35	252	3.79 (0.59)
Postpartum				0.15 (−0.34–0.02)	1.70	236	.09	0.27
	≥ 35	46	3.87 (0.63)
	< 35	192	4.03 (0.55)
Parity
Pregnancy				0.15 (0.01–0.23)	2.11	306	.04	0.24
	Nulliparous	125	3.90 (0.62)
	Multiparous	183	3.75 (0.61)
Postpartum				0.04 (−0.11–0.19)	0.57	236	.57	0.07
	Nulliparous	100	4.02 (0.60)
	Multiparous	138	3.98 (0.55)
Gestation
Pregnancy				0.01 (−0.19–0.12)	0.06	306	.95	0.02
	≤ 15 weeks	52	3.82 (0.64)
	> 15 weeks	256	3.81 (0.61)
Postpartum				0.04 (−0.15–0.23)	0.41	236	.67	0.07
	≤ 15 weeks	38	3.96 (0.65)
	> 15 weeks	200	4.00 (0.55)
Educationa
Pregnancy				0.15 (0.30–0.01)	2.05	306	.04	0.24
	Low	97	3.71 (0.62)
	High	211	3.86 (0.61)
Postpartum				0.13 (−0.29–0.03)	1.60	236	.11	0.23
	Low	71	3.91 (0.56)
	High	167	4.04 (0.57)
Incomeb
Pregnancy				0.23 (0.08–0.37)	3.09	276	.002	0.36
	High	160	3.92 (0.60)
	Low	118	3.70 (0.61)
Postpartum				0.23 (0.14–0.44)	3.73	214	. < .001	0.51
	High	129	4.10 (0.52)
	Low	87	3.81 (0.61)
Country of birth
Pregnancy				0.03 (−0.12–0.18)	0.39	306	.70	0.04
	Australia	223	3.82 (0.60)
	Other	85	3.79 (0.64)
Postpartum				0.05 (−0.11–0.21)	0.58	236	.56	0.08
	Australia	175	4.01 (0.54)
	Other	63	3.96 (0.65)
Obesityc
Pregnancy				0.21 (0.38–0.04)	2.43	281	.02	0.34
	Obese	62	3.63 (0.66)
	Non obese	221	3.84 (0.59)
Postpartum				0.23 (0.41–0.05)	2.5	220	.01	0.40
	Obese	51	3.80 (0.59)
	Non obese	171	4.03 (0.56)
Mental healthd
Pregnancye				0.33 (0.08–0.57)	2.71	50.28e	.01	0.49
	Yes	43	3.53 (0.75)
	No	265	3.86 (0.58)
Postpartum				0.22 (0.01–0.42)	2.07	236	.04	0.37
	Yes	34	3.81 (0.64)
	No	204	4.03 (0.55)
Smoker in last 12 months
Pregnancye				0.24 (0.46–0.02)	2.21	64.39e	.01	0.36
	Smoker	52	3.61 (0.74)
	Non-smoker	256	3.85 (0.58)
Postpartum				0.23 (0.43–0.03)	2.25	236	.03	0.36
	Smoker	37	3.81 (0.66)
	Non-smoker	201	4.03 (0.54)
Pre-pregnancy drug use
Pregnancy				0.37 (0.60–0.15)	3.32	306	.001	0.60
	Drug use	32	3.48 (0.63)
	No drug use	276	3.85 (0.60)
Postpartum				0.03 (−.22–0.29)	0.22	236	.83	0.05
	Drug use	21	3.97 (0.54)
	No drug use	217	4.00 (0.57)
Planned pregnancy
Pregnancy				0.17 (0.02–0.32)	2.21	229	.03	0.27
	Planned	214	3.87 (0.59)
	Unplanned	87	3.70 (0.65)
Postpartum				0.09 (−0.06–0.25)	1.15	235	.25	0.18
	Planned	170	4.03 (0.58)
	Unplanned	67	3.93 (0.54)
Stress in the last 12 months
Pregnancy				0.19 (0.04–0.35)	2.43	296	.02	0.31
	Stress	81	3.68 (0.63)
	No stress	217	3.87 (0.60)
Postpartum				0.08 (−0.08–0.24)	0.94	233	.35	0.14
	Stress	65	3.95 (0.56)
	No stress	170	4.03 (0.56)
Previous caesarean
Pregnancy				0.07 (−0.13–0.28)	0.67	306	.50	0.12
	Yes	39	3.75 (0.51)
	No	269	3.82 (0.63)
Postpartum				0.03 (−0.19–0.25)	0.25	236	.80	0.05
	Yes	29	3.97 (0.62)
	No	209	4.00 (0.56)

Bolded p and Cohen’s d indicates significant results

^aLow education = Secondary school year 12 or less; High education = College apprenticeship/Diploma or University

^bLow income = Nil - $1499, High income = $1500 or more;

^cObese = BMI ≥ 30, Non obese = BMI < 30

^dHistory of mental health disorder

^eViolation of assumption of equal variances