Association of Food Desert Residency and Preterm Birth in the United States.

Introduction: Food deserts are a major public health concern. Inadequate access to healthy food has been associated with poor nutrition and the development of dietary related chronic conditions.

Objective: To determine the association between geographic access to nutritious food and preterm birth and whether gestational hypertension mediates this relationship.

Maternity Care Deserts in Louisiana and Breastfeeding Initiation.

Background: Breastfeeding provides physical, psychological, and immunological benefits to both the mother and infant, but breastfeeding rates are suboptimal. The purpose of this study was to examine whether residing in a maternity care desert (a county with no hospital offering obstetric care and no OB/GYN or certified nurse midwife providers) was associated with lower breastfeeding rates among birthing people in Louisiana from 2019 to 2020.

Methods: Data provided by the March of Dimes were used to classify Louisiana parishes by level of access to maternity care.