Minimum Wage Policies and Obstetric Disorders in the U.S

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Economics
• Obstetrics & Gynecology

Background:

• Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy represent a significant public health concern in the U.S.
• These conditions disproportionately affect disadvantaged communities.
• Existing research has not fully explored socioeconomic policy impacts on obstetric health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between state-level minimum wage policies and the incidence of maternal hypertensive and other obstetric disorders.
• To assess the potential of economic policies in mitigating adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized U.S. national, state-level data from the Global Burden of Disease study (1992-2019).
• Employed generalized difference-in-differences models to analyze associations between minimum wage changes and disorder incidence.
• Conducted analysis between January and July 2025.

Main Results:

• A minimum wage increase of $1 or more was associated with a reduction of 64.1 cases per 100,000 women in maternal hypertensive disorders over five years.
• The mean incidence of maternal hypertensive disorders was 410 cases per 100,000 women.
• Results remained consistent across various estimation strategies, including 2-way fixed effects models.

Conclusions:

• Minimum wage policies show promise as a strategy for reducing maternal hypertensive disorders.
• Further research using individual-level data is recommended to explore heterogeneity and subgroup impacts, particularly by race and ethnicity.