Understanding COVID-19 vaccination decisions during pregnancy and while breastfeeding in a Canadian province

Figures & data

Table 1. Sample characteristics of pregnant individuals vaccinated or unvaccinated for COVID-19.

	Total Responses (n)	Vaccinated n (%)	Unvaccinated n (%)
Total Sample	237	136 (57.4%)	101 (42.6%)
Currently Nursing and/or New Mother	118	79 (66.9%)	39 (33.1%)
Currently Pregnant	66	38 (57.6%)	28 (42.4%)
Planning or Trying to Become Pregnant	53	19 (35.8%)	34 (64.2%)
Demographics
Ethnicity
Black	1	0 (0.0%)	1 (100%)
East/Southeast Asian	2	2 (100%)	0 (0.0%)
Latino	4	2 (50.0%)	2 (50.0%)
South Asian	2	2 (100%)	0 (0.0%)
Indigenous	3	3 (100%)	0 (0.0%)
White	168	105 (62.5%)	63 (37.5%)
Mixed Race	11	7 (63.6%)	4 (36.4%)
Another race category	3	0 (0.0%)	3 (100%)
Prefer Not Answer/Blank	43	15 (34.9%)	28 (65.1%)
Age Range
18 to 24 years	13	7 (53.8%)	6 (46.2%)
25 to 34 years	112	72 (64.3%)	40 (35.7%)
35 to 44 years	80	43 (0.8%)	37 (46.2%)
45 to 54 years	2	2 (100%)	0 (0.0%)
Prefer Not Answer/Blank	30	12 (40.0%)	18 (60.0%)
Annual Household Income
$30,000 to $49,999	10	7 (70.0%)	3 (30.0%)
$50,000 to $69,999	12	9 (75.0%)	3 (25.0%)
$70,000 to $89,999	29	15 (51.7%)	14 (48.3%)
$90,000 to $109,999	36	22 (61.1%)	14 (38.9%)
Over $110,000	98	64 (65.3%)	34 (34.7%)
Under $29,999	2	0 (0.0%)	2 (100%)
Prefer Not Answer/Blank	50	19 (38.0%)	31 (62.0%)
Area of Residence
Rural	49	25 (51.0%)	24 (49.0%)
Urban/Suburban	151	98 (64.9%)	53 (35.1%)
Prefer Not Answer/Blank	37	13 (35.1%)	24 (64.9%)
Number of People in Household
1 person	4	3 (75.0%)	1 (25.0%)
2 people	32	21 (65.6%)	11 (34.4%)
3 people	75	51 (68.0%)	24 (32.0%)
4 people	55	33 (60.0%)	22 (40.0%)
5 people	30	12 (40.0%)	18 (60.0%)
6 or more	8	2 (25.0%)	6 (75.0%)
Prefer Not Answer/Blank	33	14 (42.4%)	19 (57.6%)
Have Children
No	40	29 (72.5%)	11 (27.5%)
Yes	180	100 (55.6%)	80 (44.4%)
Prefer Not Answer/Blank	17	7 (41.2%)	10 (58.8%)

Table 2. Cronbach’s alpha for 5C scale survey questions.

5C Scale	Survey Questions	Cronbach’s Alpha (α)
Confidence	COVID-19 vaccines are safe	0.965
	COVID-19 vaccines are safe for pregnant and/or nursing individuals
	COVID-19 vaccines are effective in preventing COVID-19 infection
Complacency	Getting vaccinated for COVID-19 is unnecessary because COVID-19 is becoming less common in pregnancy	0.798
	COVID-19 is not severe enough to vaccinate against in pregnancy
Collective Responsibility	When everyone else is vaccinated for COVID-19, I don’t have to be vaccinated too	0.697
	Vaccination is a collective action to prevent the spread of COVID-19
Calculation	For each and every vaccination, I closely consider whether it is useful for me	0.537
	When I think about being vaccinated, I weigh the benefits and risks to make the best decision possible
Constraints	For me, it is inconvenient to be vaccinated for COVID-19	N/A

Table 3. Summary of Results.

	Vaccinated	Unvaccinated
5C Constructs	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)		t-value, p-value	Cohen’s d (95% CI)
5C Constructs: Independent Sample t-test results
Confidence	4.27 (0.91)	1.36 (0.67)		25.89, < .001)	3.53 (3.11, 3.96)
Complacency	1.35 (0.82)	3.26 (1.12)		14.51, <.001,	1.99 (1.66, 2.32)
Collective Responsibility	4.65 (0.77)	2.41 (1.10)		17.98, < .001	2.44 (2.09, 2.79)
Calculation	3.76 (1.02)	4.30 (1.03)		3.89, < .001	0.53 (0.26, 0.80)
Constraints	1.33 (0.94)	2.580 (1.70)		6.54, <.001,	0.90 (0.62, 1.18)
Trust in Healthcare Providers: Independent Sample t-test results
	4.44 (0.80)	2.41 (1.09)		p < .001,	d = 2.53
	Mean (SD)		t-value, p-value (Comparison to provincial government)		Cohen’s d (95% CI)
Trust in Different levels of Government: Independent Sample t-test results
Local (municipal)	2.24 (1.28)		9.08, < 0.001		0.61 (0.47–0.76)
Provincial (Alberta)	1.60 (0.93)
Federal (Canada)	2.19 (1.30)		8.00, < 0.001		0.54 (0.40, 0.68)
Vaccine Determinant	X^2 Test of Independence			Interpretation
Vaccine History: Chi-square test of independence
Non-COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy	X^2(1, N = 229) = 67.63, p < .001			more likely to report COVID-19 vaccination
Non-COVID-19 vaccine outside of pregnancy	X^2(1, N = 229) = 21.55, p <.001			more likely to report COVID-19 vaccination
Tdap during previous pregnancy	X^2 (1, N = 229) = 41.07, p < .001			more likely to report COVID-19 vaccination
Influenza vaccine during previous pregnancy	X^2 (1, N = 229) = 83.42, p < .001			more likely to report COVID-19 vaccination
Demographic	X^2 Test of Independence			Interpretation
Demographics: Chi-square test of independence
Education Level	X^2(6) = 28.44, p <.001			Higher education associated with being vaccinated
Age	X^2(3) = 3.69, p = .30			Not significant
Place of Residence	X^2(1) = 3.01, p = .08			Not significant

Data availability statement

Data from this study is available upon request.