Minimum wage policies and obstetric disorders in the U.S.

Introduction: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are a major public health problem in the US, with high rates among disadvantaged communities. This study examined the impact of minimum wage (MW) policies on hypertensive and other obstetric disorders in a population-based setting.

Methods: This study used U.S. national, state-level data from the 1992-2019 Global Burden of Disease study to estimate associations between changes in state-level MWs and the incidence of maternal hypertensive and other obstetric disorders. Generalized difference-in-differences models were implemented. Analysis was performed January - July 2025.

Results: The mean incidence of maternal hypertensive disorders was 410 cases per 100,000 women. In fully adjusted two-way fixed effects models, a $1 or greater increase in the MW was associated with a reduction in the incidence of maternal hypertensive disorders of 64.1 per 100,000 women (95% CI -108.6,-19.7) over 5 years. Results were consistent across a variety of estimation strategies, including two-way fixed effects and alternative approaches designed to account for staggered policy implementation.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that MW policies may play a role in reducing maternal hypertensive disorders. Further research is needed using individual-level data to explore effect heterogeneity and examine subgroup impacts by race and ethnicity.