Association Between Housing Affordability and Severe Maternal Morbidity

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Maternal Health
• Health Economics

Background:

• Rising unaffordable housing in the US disproportionately affects reproductive-aged women.
• Data on housing costs' impact on maternal health and the role of affordable housing programs are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between area-level rental housing costs and severe maternal morbidity (SMM).
• To assess if publicly supported affordable housing mitigates these associations.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study linking New Jersey birth and hospital discharge records (2008-2018) with municipal housing data.
• Analysis included over 1 million birth records, assessing housing cost burden and affordable housing availability.
• Severe maternal morbidity (SMM) identified using CDC codes.

Main Results:

• Higher rental housing costs correlated with increased odds of SMM (OR, 1.27).
• This association was stronger for mothers with less than a high school education (OR, 1.81).
• Increased affordable housing availability reduced the SMM risk, particularly for less educated mothers, and lessened educational disparities.

Conclusions:

• Higher rental housing costs are linked to increased SMM risk.
• Publicly supported affordable housing can mitigate the negative impact of housing costs on maternal health.
• Affordable housing initiatives may reduce socioeconomic disparities in SMM.