Table 1. Sociodemographic characteristics, medical conditions, mode of birth and gestational age among mothers of twins and singletons.
| Mothers of Twins (n = 277) | Mothers of Singletons (n = 23,746) | P-value* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | n (%) | n (%) | |
| Region | |||
| North | 30 (10.8) | 2,291 (9.6) | 0.415 |
| Northeast | 92 (33.2) | 6,845 (28.8) | |
| Southeast | 96 (34.7) | 10,108 (42.6) | |
| South | 35 (12.6) | 2,959 (12.5) | |
| Midwest | 24 (8.7) | 1,543 (6.5) | |
| Type of payment for bith | |||
| Public | 193 (69.7) | 19,074 (80.3) | 0.007 |
| Private | 84 (30.3) | 4,672 (19.7) | |
| Age | |||
| 12 to 19 | 36 (13.0) | 4,543 (19.1) | <0.001 |
| 20 to 34 | 188 (67.9) | 16,709 (70.4) | |
| ≥ 35 | 53 (19.1) | 2,494 (10.5) | |
| Ethnicity | |||
| White | 107 (38.6) | 8,002 (33.7) | 0.381 |
| Black | 19 (6.9) | 2,049 (8.6) | |
| Brown/ mixed | 151 (54.5) | 13,695 (57.7) | |
| Years of schooling | |||
| ≤ 7 | 67 (24.2) | 6,349 (26.7) | 0.197 |
| 8 to 10 | 60 (21.7) | 6,125 (25.8) | |
| ≥ 11 | 150 (54.2) | 11,272 (47.5) | |
| Economic class (n = 266 and 23,311) | |||
| D + E | 66 (24.8) | 5,521 (23.7) | 0.601 |
| C | 143 (53.8) | 12,123 (52.0) | |
| A + B | 57 (21.4) | 5,667 (24.3) | |
| Marital status (n = 276 and 23,723) | |||
| Do not live with a companion | 42 (15.2) | 4,454 (18.8) | 0.208 |
| Live with a companion | 234 (84.8) | 19,269 (81.2) | |
| Work (n = 273 and 23,646) | |||
| No | 161 (59) | 14,145 (59.8) | 0.823 |
| Yes | 112 (41) | 9,501 (40.2) | |
| Previous births | |||
| Nuliparous | 123 (44.4) | 11,107 (46.8) | 0.310 |
| 1 to 2 | 115 (41.5) | 10,178 (42.7) | |
| ≥ 3 | 39 (14.2) | 2,460 (10.4) | |
| Medical conditions (n = 276 and 23,611) | |||
| Chronic hypertension | 13 (4.7) | 617 (2.6) | 0.150 |
| Hypertensive disordersa | 51 (18.5) | 2,584 (10.9) | 0.003 |
| Eclampsia | 3 (1.1) | 135 (0.6) | 0.387 |
| Preexisting Diabetes | 6 (2.2) | 244 (1.0) | 0.196 |
| Gestational Diabetes | 27 (9.7) | 1,955 (8.2) | 0.471 |
| Other severe chronic diseasesb | 5 (1.8) | 260 (1.1) | 0.256 |
| Onset of labour (n = 276 and 23,611) | |||
| Spontaneous | 132 (47.8) | 13,514 (57.2) | <0.001 |
| Provider-initiated | 144 (52.2) | 10,097 (42.8) | |
| Elective (antepartum) CS | 142 (98.6) | 9,158 (90.7) | <0.001 |
| Successful labour induction | 2 (1.4) | 939 (9.3) | |
| Mode of Birth | |||
| Vaginal | 46 (16.3) | 11,545 (48.5) | <0.001 |
| Caesarean | 231 (83.7) | 12,201 (51.5) | |
| Elective (antepartum) CS | 142 (61.5) | 9,158 (75.1) | 0.003 |
| Emergency (intrapartum) CS | 89 (38.5) | 3,043 (24.9) | |
| Gestational age in weeks | |||
| < 34 | 50 (18.1) | 849 (3.6) | <0.001 |
| 34–36 | 124 (44.8) | 1,832 (7.7) | |
| 37–38 | 82 (29.6) | 8,292 (34.9) | |
| ≥ 39 | 21 (7.6) | 12,773 (53.8) |
* Chi square χ2 test.
a Gestational hypertension, pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome.
b Chronic cardiac diseases (other than HD), chronic renal diseases and auto-imune diseases.