Table 1.
Participant characteristics
| Characteristic | Indicator | n (%) |
| Age (N=330) |
Mean age (SD): 31.9 years (4.9) | |
| Education (N=331) |
<High school Postsecondary |
113 (34.1) 218 (65.9) |
| Parity (N=330) |
Primiparous Multiparous |
167 (50.6) 163 (49.4) |
| Newcomer status (N=331) |
<1 year in Canada 1 to <3 years in Canada >3 years in Canada Born in Canada |
46 (13.9) 80 (24.2) 175 (52.9) 30 (9.1) |
| Ethnicity (N=326) |
East Asian Other Asian African Latin American European/Caribbean/Other |
129 (39.6) 51 (15.6) 42 (12.9) 59 (18.1) 45 (13.8) |
| Infant sex (N=331) |
Male Female |
176 (53.2) 155 (46.8) |
| Preterm birth (N=326) |
No Yes |
315 (96.6) 11 (3.4) |
| Household food security (N=316) |
Secure Marginal insecurity Moderate insecurity Severe insecurity |
176 (55.7) 31 (9.8) 74 (23.4) 35 (11.1) |
| Household income (Study A only; N=197) |
Below low income cut-off Above low income cut-off Don’t know/prefer not to answer |
108 (54.8) 71 (36.0) 18 (9.1) |
| Proportion of regular expenses met by household income* (Study B only; N=124) | All Most Some Very little None Don’t know/prefer not to answer |
60 (48.4) 30 (24.2) 21 (16.9) 10 (8.1) 1 (0.8) 2 (1.6) |
| Receipt of maternity benefits† (Study B only; N=124) |
No Yes Don’t know/prefer not to answer |
85 (68.5) 38 (30.6) 1 (0.1) |
*Categorical variable from Statistics Canada Employment Insurance Coverage Survey used to assess household income adequacy to meet regular expenses during the first 6 months postpartum.
†Categorical variable used to assess receipt of maternity benefits through the federal Employment Insurance programme, which has eligibility criteria based on prior employment.