---

What's Good

•At $69, the average doctor's office visit here is the 6th lowest in our survey, compared to a national average of $82.

•There are 7.3 licensed day care centers for every 1,000 children under 4 years. The average city in our survey has 5.9.

Needs Improvement

•Compared to other states, Michigan has among the least generous family-leave and disability laws in our survey.

•The CDC reports very high infant mortality rates for Michigan.

•13 percent of pregnant women in Detroit admit to smoking during pregnancy, the 7th highest rate in our survey. Nationwide, 8 percent of pregnant women smoke.

•Detroit babies are 54 percent more likely than average to be born with low birth weight.

•Babies here are 38 percent more likely than average to be born prematurely.

•8 percent of pregnant women here receive late or inadequate prenatal care. That's the 8th worst score in our survey, compared to an average of 5 percent.

•Air quality here is worse here than most cities in our survey. Air quality has been linked to childhood asthma and fertility rates, among other things.

•Relative to population, Detroit has fewer specialty retailers of healthy/organic foods and vitamins than most places in our survey.

•Just 44 percent of Detroit mothers attempt breastfeeding. That's the lowest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 75 percent.

•By six months of age, 81 percent of Detroit babies aren't being breastfed at all. That's the 1st poorest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 57 percent.

•Not much can be done about the weather, but the local climate can be extreme -- not conducive to getting out and working off pregnancy weight gain.

•4.9 percent of Detroit mothers breastfeed their babies exclusively (meaning no solids, formula or other liquids) for 6 months or longer as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. That's the lowest percentage among cities in our survey. The average for our survey is 12 percent.

•Once Detroit mothers begin breastfeeding, they are 21 percent less likely than average to continue through 6 months. That's the 3rd lowest level of follow-through of any city in our report.

•Detroit has one doula for every 987 live births, the 8th lowest ratio in our survey. The national average is one doula per 649 live births.

•Detroit has 9 midwives for every 1,000 births, the 3rd lowest in our survey. The national average is 37 midwives for every 1,000 births.

•According to our survey of park departments, for every 10,000 residents, Detroit has 10 miles of public trails and pathways for hiking and stroller use, the 4th lowest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 79 trail miles for every 10,000 residents.

•Detroit has 5 lactation consultants for every 10,000 live births, the 3rd lowest ratio in our survey. The average city in our survey has 23 lactation consultants per 10,000 live births.

•State laws do not require health insurance companies to provide or offer any fertility-related services.

•Detroit has fewer OB-GYNs than average, the 2nd lowest in our survey.

•There are no state laws requiring day care workers to undergo special SIDS prevention training. Many other states mandate such training.

•Detroit's violent crime rate is 136 percent higher than average, the highest in our survey, in fact.

•Detroit has a 28 percent higher property crime rate than average, the 5th highest in our survey.



•Pedestrians have a 30 percent higher than average risk of being killed by a motor vehicle here-among the most dangerous in our survey.