Objective: To assess the affect of pregnant women residing in a USDA designated food desert on the development of pregnancy-associated morbidities

Results: Living in a USDA food desert is not significantly associated with the development of pregnancy-associated morbidity [OR=0.973; CI: 0.835-1.134; p-value=0.728]. Backward stepwise regression showed all proposed potential confounders were significantly associated with the development of pregnancy-associated morbidity. These potential confounders include maternal age, regular exercise routine or previous diagnosis of diabetes or hypertension (p-values < 0.02).

Conclusion: Residing in a USDA designated food desert is not associated with the development of pregnancy-related morbidity. This analysis suggests other sociodemographic risk factors, such as maternal age or exercise routine, as indicators of morbidity rather than food accessibility.