Characteristics of Mother-Provider Interactions Surrounding Postpartum Return to Work

Article Figures & Data

Table 1.

Comparison of Study Sample Versus County Data

* US 2000 Census; Women 15 to 50 years of age who had a birth during the past 12 months, Forsyth County, NC.²¹
^† Proportions differ based on results of a Z test for difference in 2 proportions with a 95% confidence value.
^‡ Percentage of mothers who worked ≥35 hours per week.

Table 2.

Characteristics Differentiating Working Mothers Having a Return to Work (RTW) Discussion with Their Prenatal Healthcare Provider

	RTW Discussion with Prenatal Provider		P
	Yes	No	P
Demographics
Age, years (n [mean])	131 (30.2)	85 (30.6)	.74^*
Ethnicity			.003^†
Black	49 (76.6)	15 (23.4)
Non-Hispanic white	82 (53.9)	70 (46.1)
Maternal education			.97^†
Less than college degree	69 (60.5)	45 (39.5)
College degree or higher	62 (60.8)	40 (39.2)
Marital status			.02^†
Currently married	94 (56.3)	73 (43.7)
Single	37 (75.5)	12 (24.5)
Household income			.79^†
Bottom quartile	31 (67.4)	15 (32.6)
2nd quartile	32 (64.0)	18 (36.0)
3rd quartile	29 (59.2)	20 (40.8)
Top quartile	30 (58.8)	21 (41.2)
Poverty status			.01^†
Below poverty	18 (85.7)	3 (14.3)
Above poverty	113 (57.9)	82 (42.1)
Personal characteristics
Type of childcare			.05^†
Family member	61 (63.5)	35 (36.5)
Formal daycare	63 (63.0)	37 (37.0)
Other	7 (35.0)	13 (65.0)
Breastfeeding only			.62^†
Yes	27 (64.3)	15 (35.7)
No	104 (60.1)	69 (39.9)
Perceived SES			.52^†
Low	65 (58.6)	46 (41.4)
High	66 (62.9)	39 (37.1)
Economic Hardship			.89^†
Less hardship	66 (60.0)	44 (40.0)
More hardship	64 (61.0)	41 (39.0)

Table 3.

Characteristics Differentiating Working Mothers Having a Return to Work (RTW) Discussion with Their Infant's Healthcare Provider

	RTW Discussion with Infant's Healthcare Provider		P
	Yes	No	P
Demographics
Age, years (n [mean])	125 (30.1)	92 (30.5)	.32^*
Ethnicity			.46^†
Black	35 (53.8)	30 (46.2)
Non-Hispanic white	90 (59.2)	62 (40.8)
Maternal education			.001^†
Less than college degree	53 (42.4)	62 (67.4)
College degree or higher	72 (57.6)	30 (32.6)
Marital status			.22^†
Currently married	100 (59.9)	67 (40.1)
Single	25 (50.0)	25 (50.0)
Household income			.05^†
Bottom quartile	23 (48.9)	24 (51.1)
2nd quartile	24 (48.0)	26 (52.0)
3rd quartile	34 (69.4)	15 (30.6)
Top quartile	34 (66.7)	17 (33.3)
Poverty status			.06^†
Below poverty	8 (38.1)	13 (61.9)
Above poverty	117 (59.7)	79 (40.3)
Personal characteristics
Type of childcare			.45^†
Family member	53 (54.6)	44 (45.4)
Formal daycare	62 (62.0)	38 (38.0)
Other	10 (50.0)	10 (50.0)
Breastfeeding only			.09^†
Yes	29 (69.0)	13 (31.0)
No	95 (54.6)	79 (45.4)
Perceived SES			.21^†
Low	60 (53.6)	52 (46.4)
High	65 (61.9)	40 (38.1)
Economic Hardship			.23^†
Less hardship	68 (61.8)	42 (38.2)
More hardship	57 (53.8)	49 (46.2)

Table 4.

Characteristics of Return to Work Discussions with Prenatal and Infant Healthcare Providers

	RTW Discussion with Prenatal Care Provider (n = 131)	RTW Discussion with Infant's Healthcare Provider (n = 125)
Should prenatal provider discuss RTW?^*
Yes	119 (65.7)	n/a
No	11 (32.4)	n/a
Mother initiated RTW discussion
Yes	80 (61.1)	n/a
No	51 (38.9)	n/a
Usefulness of RTW discussion:
Very useful	32 (24.4)	36 (29.0)
Somewhat useful	52 (39.7)	61 (49.2)
Not at all useful	47 (35.9)	27 (21.8)
Content of RTW discussions^*^†
Maternal health or well-being	24 (19.5)	10 (8.4)
Infant health or development	13 (10.6)	40 (33.6)
Both	29 (23.6)	27 (22.7)
Other	57 (46.3)	42 (35.3)
Frequency of RTW discussions
Once	54 (41.2)	n/a
2 to 3 times	63 (48.1)	n/a
>3 times	14 (10.7)	n/a