Table 2.
General characteristics of study participants who have given birth since the COVID-19 pandemic began (n=216)
| Variables | Perinatal IPV | Total | P value | |
| Yes (n=52) |
No (164) |
N=216 | ||
| Demographic characteristics | ||||
| Maternal age in years (median, IQR) | 32 (30–34) | 33 (30–36) | 33 (30–36) | 0.089 |
| Infant age in days at time of interview (median, IQR) | 80 (67–89) | 75 (65–90) | 76 (66–90) | 0.375 |
| Month of delivery in 2020 | ||||
| March | 11 (21.15) | 28 (17.07) | 39 (18.06) | 0.800 |
| April | 21 (40.38) | 61 (37.20) | 82 (37.96) | |
| May | 13 (25.00) | 51 (31.10) | 64 (29.63) | |
| June | 7 (13.46) | 24 (14.63) | 31 (14.35) | |
| Nulliparous versus multiparous | 32 (61.54) | 86 (52.44) | 118 (54.63) | 0.251 |
| Race or ethnicity* | ||||
| White people | 31 (59.62) | 116 (70.73) | 147 (68.06) | 0.134 |
| Asian—South/East/Southeast | 9 (17.31) | 22 (13.41) | 31 (14.35) | 0.485 |
| Middle Eastern | 8 (15.38) | 10 (6.10) | 18 (8.33) | 0.035 |
| Black people | 5 (9.62) | 12 (7.32) | 17 (7.87) | 0.592 |
| Another POC group | 9 (17.31) | 16 (9.76) | 25 (11.57) | 0.138 |
| Born in Canada versus immigrated | 34 (65.38) | 125 (76.22) | 159 (73.61) | 0.122 |
| Marital status: married/common law versus single/another status | 48 (92.31) | 156 (95.12) | 204 (94.44) | 0.440 |
| Completed college diploma or undergraduate degree | 44 (84.62) | 144 (87.80) | 188 (87.04) | 0.551 |
| Language(s) comfortable speaking* | ||||
| Speaks English | 51 (98.08) | 161 (98.17) | 212 (98.15) | 0.965 |
| Speaks French | 19 (36.54) | 55 (33.54) | 74 (34.26) | 0.691 |
| Speaks another language | 9 (17.31) | 20 (12.20) | 29 (13.43) | 0.346 |
| Income | ||||
| Dwelling owned versus rented | 29 (55.77) | 122 (74.39) | 151 (69.91) | 0.011 |
| Combined household income below Ottawa median† | 34 (65.38) | 46 (28.05) | 80 (37.04) | <0.001 |
| COVID-19-related household stress | ||||
| Any household income loss | 19 (36.54) | 45 (27.44) | 64 (29.63) | 0.211 |
| Partner is essential worker | 12 (23.08) | 43 (26.22) | 55 (25.46) | 0.650 |
| Partner substance use increased | 12 (23.08) | 33 (20.12) | 45 (20.83) | 0.648 |
| Children’s schedule | ||||
| Children stopped going to school or daycare | 17 (32.69) | 67 (40.85) | 84 (38.89) | 0.515 |
| Children’s schedule did not change | – | – | 14 (6.48) | |
| No children | 32 (61.54) | 86 (52.44) | 118 (54.63) | |
| Isolation due to COVID-19 restrictions | ||||
| No baby shower or planned celebration | 29 (55.77) | 70 (42.68) | 99 (45.83) | 0.099 |
| Family member couldn’t come to stay with me as planned | 30 (57.69) | 78 (47.56) | 108 (50.00) | 0.203 |
| Friends and family could not visit my new baby | 41 (78.85) | 129 (78.66) | 170 (78.70) | 0.977 |
| Missed out on community resources | 46 (88.46) | 137 (83.54) | 183 (84.72) | 0.390 |
| Mental health | ||||
| Pre-existing anxiety | 13 (25.00) | 30 (18.29) | 43 (19.91) | 0.291 |
| Pre-existing depression | 7 (13.46) | 22 (13.41) | 29 (13.43) | 0.993 |
| Postpartum depression (EPDS 13 cut-off) | 20 (38.46) | 44 (26.83) | 64 (29.63) | 0.109 |
| EPDS score (median, IQR) | 10 (5–14) | 8 (4–13) | 8 (4–13) | 0.130 |
| Healthcare experiences | ||||
| Alone for all labour and delivery | – | – | 16 (7.41) | 0.928 |
| Wear a mask during delivery | 22 (42.31) | 75 (45.73) | 97 (44.91) | 0.665 |
| Any postpartum emergency department visit for mother or infant | 11 (21.15) | 31 (18.90) | 42 (19.44) | 0.721 |
| Coping mechanisms | ||||
| Positive coping mechanisms‡ | 49 (94.23) | 160 (97.56) | 209 (96.76) | 0.237 |
| Negative coping mechanisms§ | 38 (73.08) | 101 (61.59) | 139 (64.35) | 0.132 |
Cell sizes ≤5 and are suppressed; p values are calculated with Χ2 test for categorical variables and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests for continuous variables.
*Participants can pick multiple race/ethnic groups or languages.
†Missing data=24 cases.
‡Positive coping mechanisms include: yoga, exercising, donating to charity, connecting with friends/family.
§Negative coping mechanisms include: sleeping more or less; over/undereating, acting aggressively.
EPDS, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Survey; IPV, intimate partner violence; POC, person of colour.