Baseline characteristics of 6126 new mothers who completed the Maternity Experiences Survey, by location
| Characteristic | Location; weighted % (95% CI)* | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rural n = 1362 | Semirural n = 1225 | Semiurban n = 2187 | Urban n = 1352 | |
| Maternal age, yr, mean (95% CI) | 29.7 (29.5–30.0) | 29.5 (29.2–29.8) | 29.5 (29.3–29.7) | 31.1 (31.0–31.3) |
| Parity, primiparous | 39.6 (37.0–42.2) | 40.8 (37.9–43.6) | 49.4 (46.9–51.9) | 47.0 (45.5–48.6) |
| Marital status, married or common-law | 92.7 (91.2–94.2) | 91.0 (89.4–92.6) | 88.6 (87.0–90.3) | 93.2 (92.2–94.2) |
| Born in Canada | 89.0 (87.0–91.0) | 88.1 (86.0–90.2) | 87.2 (85.3–89.2) | 61.9 (59.9–63.9) |
| Household income† | ||||
| Lowest | 10.5 (8.85–12.2) | 9.9 (8.12–11.6) | 12.0 (10.1–13.8) | 11.2 (9.82–12.5) |
| Lower-middle | 23.9 (21.4–26.3) | 18.8 (16.4–21.3) | 21.5 (19.2–23.8) | 20.5 (18.7–22.3) |
| Upper-middle | 37.6 (34.7–40.5) | 36.9 (33.9–40.0) | 36.6 (33.9–39.3) | 30.9 (28.9–32.9) |
| Highest | 28.0 (25.2–30.8) | 34.4 (31.4–37.4) | 29.9 (27.3–32.5) | 37.4 (35.5–39.4) |
| Education level | ||||
| Less than high school | 8.82 (7.3–10.4) | 9.87 (8.10–11.6) | 7.79 (6.42–9.16) | 5.94 (4.98–6.90) |
| High school | 15.5 (13.4–17.6) | 16.2 (13.9–18.4) | 15.1 (13.0–17.1) | 10.8 (9.53–12.0) |
| Some postsecondary | 19.0 (16.7–21.2) | 16.2 (14.0–18.3) | 16.9 (14.9–19.0) | 13.9 (12.5–15.4) |
| Postsecondary | 56.8 (53.8–59.7) | 57.8 (54.8–60.8) | 60.2 (57.5–62.9) | 69.4 (67.5–71.2) |
| History of depression | 16.4 (14.1–18.6) | 16.4 (14.2–18.6) | 18.7 (16.6–20.9) | 13.5 (12.0–14.9) |
| Maternal health, excellent or very good | 73.3 (70.7–75.8) | 73.1 (70.4–74.8) | 75.1 (72.7–77.5) | 70.7 (68.8–72.6) |
| Stress | ||||
| No. of life stressors in last 2 yr, mean (95% CI) | 1.25 (1.17–1.34) | 1.37 (1.27–1.46) | 1.38 (1.30–1.47) | 1.19 (1.13–1.25) |
| Abuse in last 2 yr | 9.82 (8.21–11.4) | 12.6 (10.6–14.5) | 13.1 (11.3–14.9) | 9.94 (8.79–11.1) |
| Labour and delivery complications | 14.3 (12.2–16.4) | 14.4 (12.3–16.5) | 14.6 (12.7–16.6) | 14.9 (13.4–16.3) |
| Preterm birth | 6.06 (4.62–7.50) | 6.49 (4.90–8.08) | 6.67 (2.30–8.04) | 6.15 (5.13–7.18) |
| Infant in NICU | 10.8 (8.98–12.5) | 11.0 (9.06–12.8) | 14.8 (12.8–16.8) | 13.0 (11.6–14.4) |
| Social support | ||||
| Pregnancy | ||||
| None or a little of the time | 4.52 (3.28–5.76) | 4.05 (2.82–5.28) | 3.52 (2.54–4.51) | 6.21 (5.18–7.24) |
| Some of the time | 6.65 (5.21–8.10) | 6.87 (5.29–8.46) | 6.25 (4.91–7.59) | 9.21 (8.00–10.4) |
| Most of the time | 27.9 (25.2–30.6) | 30.0 (27.1–32.9) | 27.4 (24.9–29.9) | 31.4 (29.5–33.4) |
| All of the time | 60.9 (58.0–63.8) | 59.1 (56.0–62.1) | 62.8 (60.1–65.5) | 53.1 (51.1–55.2) |
| Postpartum | ||||
| None or a little of the time | 4.51 (3.32–5.70) | 5.34 (3.89–6.79) | 4.82 (3.67–5.96) | 6.53 (5.50–7.55) |
| Some of the time | 9.48 (7.74–11.2) | 8.51 (6.84–10.2) | 8.42 (6.82–10.0) | 12.2 (10.8–13.6) |
| Most of the time | 31.8 (29.0–34.5) | 33.4 (30.5–36.3) | 31.2 (28.6–33.9) | 34.1 (32.1–36.1) |
| All of the time | 54.3 (51.4–57.1) | 52.8 (49.7–55.9) | 55.5 (52.8–58.3) | 47.2 (45.1–49.3) |