Best Cities to Have a Baby

Fit Pregnancy has released its updated “Best Cities in America to Have a Baby” rankings, compiled based on the following factors: access to hospitals/doctors; affordability; birthing options; breastfeeding; child care; fertility laws/resources; maternal and infant health risk; parks/stroller friendliness; safety.

This year’s winner was Portland, followed by Minneapolis, San Francisco, Seattle, and Denver. My own city ranked 33rd, just below D.C. Among the factors weighing Nashville down:
-”Compared to other states, Tennessee has among the least generous family-leave and disability laws in our survey.”
-”12 percent of pregnant women here receive late or inadequate prenatal care. That’s the 4th worst score in our survey, compared to an average of 5 percent.”
-”By six months of age, 67 percent of Nashville-Davidson babies aren’t being breastfed at all. That’s the 8th poorest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 57 percent.”

Reports with details such as those above are available for each city on the list. For more personalized information, you can choose the factors that are most important to you, and the rankings will be adjusted accordingly.