Send To A Friend
Print This PageOmaha, NE
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What's Good
- Omaha is home to Methodist Hospital, recognized as a Baby-Friendly Hospital by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for supporting breastfeeding.
- According to data from the CDC, maternal mortality in Nebraska is especially low.
- Pedestrians have a 58 percent lower than average risk of being killed by a motor vehicle--among the safest in our survey.
- Once Omaha mothers begin breastfeeding, they are 14 percent more likely than average to continue through 6 months. That's the 4th highest level of follow-through of any city in our report.
- Expecting and new moms have plenty of parks: Omaha has 76 percent more public parks than average, relative to population.
- Omaha has 27 licensed home day cares for every 1,000 children under 4 years, the 6th highest in our survey.
- Housing in Omaha is more affordable than most places: When comparing household incomes to home values, a key measure of affordability, Omaha has the 7th highest ratio in our survey.
- Air quality here is better here than most cities in our survey. Air quality has been linked to childhood asthma and fertility rates, among other health effects.
- Omaha has lots of NICU beds, 59 percent more than average, 7th highest in our survey.
- There's 38 percent more public park space than average here, relative to population.
- Hospital costs here are among the lowest in our survey.
- According to the Urban Mobility Report from Texas A&M University, Omaha has one of the best commutes of any city in our survey--it takes only 18 percent longer to drive the same route during rush hour than in free-flowing traffic. That takes a lot of pressure off parents rushing to day care at the end of the day.
Needs Improvement
- State laws do not require health insurance companies to provide or offer any fertility-related services.
- Omaha 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.
- Nebraska has no provisions for dependent related tax breaks.
- The local climate can be extreme - not conducive to getting out and working off pregnancy weight gain.
- Relative to the number of live births per year, Omaha has 81 percent fewer doulas than average--that figure is the 6th lowest in our survey.
- Nebraska lacks progressive laws guaranteeing a nursing mother the right to breastfeed in public.
- Women in Omaha are 61 percent more likely than average to smoke during pregnancy. That's the 6th highest rate in our survey. Nationwide, about 1 out of every 12 pregnant women smokes.
- Midwives are not as widely available here as in most places we surveyed, and midwife-assisted births are accordingly rare.
