Table 1.

Differences Between Women by 11-Week Interview Status1*

VariablesFull Interview n=661 Mean (SD)Mini-Interview n=70 Mean (SD)Incomplete or No Interview n=86 Mean (SD)Significance of F Test Using ANOVA or t Test(P Value)
MCS = mental component summary from the SF-12; PCS = physicial component summary from the SF-12.
Note: Variables not significantly different between all 3 groups included the proportion of women by marital status, primiparous, and those who had cesarean deliveries; these findings are not reported in the table for purposes of brevity.
* The dashes indicate that no data was available for the subjects at the relevant time period because they did not do an interview at 5 and or 11 weeks after childbirth.
The t test was used to evaluate differences in mean MCS and PCS scores between women completing the full interview and those completing the mini interview.
The χ2 test was used to evaluate the difference in status as at work or on leave among employed women by interview status as full vs mini-interview. Women completing the mini-interview because they were unemployed were excluded from the analysis.
Continuous
Age, years30 (5.3)28.4 (5.6)27.9 (5.8)F = 7.86 (.000)
Preconception general health score3.1 (0.8)3.0 (0.7)3.0 (0.9)NS
Postpartum health at 11 weeks
    Mental health (MCS) score50.4 (7.3)50.3 (8.3)NS
    Physical health (PCS) score55.7 (5.2)54.5 (8.7)NS
DiscreteFrequency (%)Frequency (%)Frequency (%)
White568 (86)49 (70)64 (74)χ2 = 17.1; df 2 (.000)
Earned a college degree318 (48)18 (26)18 (21)χ2 = 32.6; df 2 (.000)
Meets poverty threshold81 (12)10 (14)17 (20)NS
Prenatal mood problems307 (46)36 (51)42 (49)NS
Primiparous301 (46)31 (44)38 (44)NS
Employment (11 weeks)
    Unemployed040 (57)NS2
    On leave334 (51)11 (16)
    Working327 (49)19 (27)