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Print This PageMemphis, TN
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What's Good
- There are 10 licensed day care centers for every 1,000 children under 4 years. That's 50 percent more than average.
- Hospital costs here are among the lowest in our survey.
Needs Improvement
- State laws do not require health insurance companies to provide or offer any fertility-related services.
- Memphis lacks access to fertility clinics that offer advanced reproductive technology, as reported to the CDC.
- State laws require less-stringent day-care worker checks than most.
- 10.6 percent of Memphis 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 among the bottom 2 percent of cities in our survey.
- Just 4.4 percent of births statewide are attended by midwives. That's 42 percent less than average.
- Memphis has fewer OB-GYNs than average, the 10th lowest in our survey.
- According to data from the CDC, maternal mortality in Tennessee is especially high.
- Pedestrians have a 39 percent higher than average risk of being killed by a motor vehicle--among the most dangerous in our survey.
- By six months of age, 71 percent of Memphis babies aren't being breastfed at all. That's the 7th poorest percentage of any city in our report.
- Tennessee has among the least generous family-leave and disability laws in our survey.
- Tennessee lacks progressive laws guaranteeing a nursing mother the right to breastfeed in public.
- 57 percent of Memphis mothers attempt breastfeeding. That's the 5th lowest percentage of any city in our report. Moms here are 23 percent less likely than average to try breastfeeding.
- Babies here are 17 percent more likely than average to be born prematurely.
- The CDC reports very high infant mortality rates for Tennessee.
- Memphis babies are 38 percent more likely than average to be born with low birth weight.
- 10 percent of pregnant women here receive late or inadequate prenatal care. That's the 3rd worst score in our survey.
- Memphis has only 5 licensed home day cares for every 1,000 children under 4 years, the 3rd lowest in our survey.
- Tennessee devotes less money relative to population than most states to child car-seat-check stations.
- Relative to the number of live births per year, Memphis has 94 percent fewer doulas than average--that figure is the lowest in our survey.
- Midwifery is less widely available than most cities, with 85 percent fewer midwives than average.
- Memphis' violent crime rate is 89 percent higher than average, the highest in our survey, in fact.
- Memphis has a 51 percent higher property crime rate than average, the highest in our survey.
