Table 1. Percentage distribution of recent mothers, by selected characteristics, according to birth weight of infant, Missouri, 1989-1991 (N=2,378) | ||||||
Characteristic | Very low | Moderately low | Normal | |||
N | % | N | % | N | % | |
Age | ||||||
<20 | 205 | 26.3 | 185 | 23.2 | 193 | 24.1 |
20-24 | 211 | 27.1 | 229 | 28.7 | 221 | 27.6 |
25-30 | 206 | 26.4 | 250 | 31.3 | 227 | 28.4 |
>30 | 157 | 20.2 | 135 | 16.9 | 159 | 19.9 |
Race | ||||||
Black | 308 | 39.5 | 307 | 38.4 | 320 | 40.0 |
Other | 492 | 61.6 | 480 | 60.0 | 471 | 60.5 |
Education (in years) | ||||||
<12 | 272 | 34.9 | 264 | 33.0 | 232 | 29.0 |
>=12 | 507 | 65.1 | 535 | 67.0 | 568 | 71.0 |
Enrolled in Medicaid | ||||||
Yes | 317 | 40.7 | 394 | 49.3 | 369 | 46.1 |
No | 462 | 59.3 | 405 | 50.7 | 431 | 53.9 |
Marital status | ||||||
Married | 364 | 46.7 | 390 | 48.8 | 446 | 55.8 |
Unmarried | 415 | 53.3 | 409 | 51.2 | 354 | 44.3 |
Health during pregnancy | ||||||
Excellent/good/fair | 690 | 88.6 | 761 | 95.2 | 785 | 98.1 |
Poor | 89 | 11.4 | 38 | 4.7 | 15 | 1.9 |
Adequacy of prenatal care | ||||||
Inadequate | 297 | 38.1 | 302 | 37.8 | 308 | 38.5 |
Adequate | 482 | 61.9 | 497 | 62.2 | 492 | 61.5 |
Prior live birth | ||||||
0 | 376 | 48.3 | 350 | 43.8 | 309 | 38.6 |
>=1 | 403 | 51.7 | 449 | 56.2 | 491 | 61.4 |
Smoked during pregnancy | ||||||
Yes | 252 | 32.9 | 335 | 42.2 | 218 | 27.4 |
No | 527 | 67.1 | 464 | 57.8 | 582 | 72.6 |
Type of survey | ||||||
In-hospital | 320 | 41.1 | 318 | 39.8 | 339 | 42.4 |
Mailed | 459 | 58.9 | 481 | 60.2 | 461 | 57.6 |
Total | 779 | 100.0 | 799 | 100.0 | 800 | 100.0 |
Note: Percentages may not add to 100.0% due to rounding. |
Table 2. Among recent mothers, percentage who almost always felt stress, percentage reporting selected measures of pregnancy attitudes and intentions, and percentage who experienced selected major life events, all by birth weight of recent infant | |||
Measure | Very low | Moderately low | Normal |
(N=779) | (N=799) | (N=800) | |
Almost always felt stress | 25.0 | 21.2 | 16.1 |
Pregnancy attitude/intention | |||
Unhappy | 18.6 | 17.3 | 13.3 |
Unsure | 9.2 | 7.6 | 6.6 |
Pregnancy denial | 15.9 | 12.1 | 9.9 |
Unintended pregnancy | 57.9 | 59.3 | 61.9 |
Mistimed pregnancy | 41.9 | 41.1 | 46.9 |
Unwanted pregnancy | 16.1 | 18.3 | 15.0 |
Major life events | |||
Got back with husband/partner | 10.3 | 12.6 | 7.3 |
Had problems with parents/in-laws | 24.0 | 21.1 | 18.7 |
Husband/partner changed jobs | 9.8 | 13.1 | 9.8 |
Was arrested | 1.7 | 2.9 | 1.6 |
Took out mortgage/loan | 3.5 | 5.9 | 6.7 |
Suffered major injury/illness | 7.0 | 6.1 | 3.4 |
Was in physical fight | 8.6 | 6.7 | 5.0 |
Close family member died | 10.2 | 13.1 | 13.6 |
Table 3. Unadjusted odds ratios (and 95% confidence intervals) of selected birth-weight comparisons, by effects of stress, major life events and pregnancy attitudes and intentions | |||
Factor | Very low vs. normal | Moderately low vs. normal | Very low vs. moderately low |
Stress | |||
Almost always felt stress | 1.74* (1.36, 2.23) | 1.40* (1.08, 1.80) | 1.25 (0.98, 1.57) |
Major life events | |||
Got back with husband/partner | 1.35 (0.96, 1.90) | 1.75* (1.26, 2.81) | 0.77 (0.57, 1.05) |
Had problems with parents/in-laws | 1.33* (1.05, 1.70) | 1.16 (0.91, 1.48) | 1.15 (0.91, 1.46) |
Husband/partner changed jobs | 0.82 (0.60, 1.12) | 1.17 (0.87, 1.57) | 0.70* (0.52, 0.95) |
Was arrested | 0.82 (0.42, 1.59) | 1.52 (0.86, 2.70) | 0.54* (0.29, 0.99) |
Took out mortgage/loan | 0.49* (0.32, 0.78) | 0.89 (0.62, 1.37) | 0.55* (0.35, 0.89) |
Suffered major injury/accident/illness | 1.78* (1.15, 2.75) | 1.67* (1.07, 2.55) | 1.07 (0.73, 1.57) |
Was in physical fight | 1.58* (1.08, 2.32) | 1.30 (0.88, 1.93) | 1.22 (0.85, 1.74) |
Close family member died | 0.70* (0.52, 0.95) | 0.96 (0.73, 1.27) | 0.73* (0.54, 0.99) |
Pregnancy attitude/intention | |||
Unhappy about pregnancy | 1.50* (1.14, 1.97) | 1.37* (1.04, 1.80) | 1.10 (0.85, 1.42) |
Unsure wanted to be pregnant | 1.44 (0.99, 2.08) | 1.17 (0.80, 1.71) | 1.23 (0.86, 1.76) |
Pregnancy denial | 1.73* (1.28, 2.34) | 1.26 (0.92, 1.73) | 1.37* (1.03, 1.82) |
Unintended pregnancy | 0.85 (0.69, 1.04) | 0.90 (0.74, 1.10) | 0.94 (0.77, 1.15) |
Mistimed pregnancy | 0.82 (0.67, 1.00) | 0.79* (0.65, 0.96) | 1.03 (0.85, 1.26) |
Unwanted pregnancy | 1.08 (0.83, 1.42) | 1.27 (0.97, 1.65) | 0.86 (0.66, 1.11) |
*Statistically significant at p<.05. Only major life events with statistically significant odds ratios are included in this table. |
Table 4. Adjusted odds ratios (and 95% confidence intervals) of selected birth-weight comparisons, by effects of stress, major life events and pregnancy attitudes and intentions | |||
Factor | Very low vs. normal | Moderately low vs. normal | Very low vs. moderately low |
Stress | |||
Almost always felt stress | 1.57* (1.21, 2.05) | 1.26 (0.97, 1.64) | 1.21 (0.94, 1.55) |
Major life events | |||
Got back with husband/partner | 1.37 (0.94, 1.99) | 1.69* (1.19, 2.41) | 0.82 (0.59, 1.14) |
Took out mortgage/loan | 0.54* (0.33, 0.88) | 0.94 (0.62, 1.44) | 0.60* (0.36, 0.98) |
Suffered major injury/accident/illness | 1.70* (1.02, 2.81) | 1.71* (1.04, 2.80) | 0.99 (0.65, 1.51) |
Was in physical fight | 1.63* (1.06, 2.50) | 1.19 (0.77, 1.85) | 1.35 (0.91, 2.00) |
Close family member died | 0.69* (0.50, 0.96) | 0.88 (0.65, 1.18) | 0.75 (0.56, 1.07) |
Pregnancy attitude/intention | |||
Unhappy about pregnancy | 1.39* (1.03, 1.89) | 1.21 (0.97, 1.73) | 1.08 (0.82, 1.43) |
Pregnancy denial | 1.67* (1.20, 2.32) | 1.70 (0.86, 1.67) | 1.41* (1.04, 1.91) |
Mistimed pregnancy | 0.79* (0.63, 0.96) | 0.75* (0.61, 0.93) | 0.85 (0.85, 1.29) |
*Statistically significant at p<.05. Notes: All analyses are adjusted for education, Medicaid status, marital status, health during pregnancy, inadequate prenatal care, no previous live birth, smoking and type of survey. Only variables that were statistically significant in at least one birth-weight comparison are shown in this table. |
Table 5. Adjusted odds ratios (and 95% confidence intervals) from stepwise logistic regression analysis of factors affecting birth weight, by birth-weight comparison | |||
Factor | Very low vs. normal | Moderately low vs. normal | Very low vs. moderately low |
Almost always felt stress | 1.58 (1.21, 2.07) | ns | ns |
Got back with husband/partner | ns | 1.74 (1.22, 2.46) | ns |
Took out mortgage/loan | 0.52 (0.32, 0.86) | ns | 0.59 (0.36, 0.96) |
Had major injury/accident/illness | 1.74 (1.05, 2.90) | ns | ns |
Close family member died | 0.67 (0.49, 0.93) | ns | ns |
Unhappy about pregnancy | ns | 1.33 (1.00, 1.78) | ns |
Pregnancy denial | 1.55 (1.11, 2.15) | ns | 1.41 (1.04, 1.90) |
Mistimed pregnancy | 0.76 (0.61, 0.94) | 0.78 (0.64, 0.96) | ns |
Poor health during pregnancy | 6.14 (3.47, 10.87) | 2.39 (1.29, 4.43) | 2.73 (1.83, 4.01) |
Medicaid | 0.56 (0.44, 0.72) | ns | 0.61 (0.48, 0.76) |
Smoked during pregnancy | 1.29 (1.02, 1.62) | 2.01 (1.61, 2.50) | 0.66 (0.54, 0.83) |
Marital status (unmarried) | 1.63 (1.26, 2.09) | ns | 1.34 (1.06, 1.69) |
No prior pregnancy | 1.46 (1.18, 1.81) | 1.37 (1.11, 1.69) | ns |
Note: Final stepwise models for each birth-weight comparison include only the variables that were statistically significant at p<.05. |
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