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What's Good

•22 percent of babies in Colorado are born via Cesarean section, among the lowest in our survey. The average is 27 percent.

•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 things.

•86 percent of Denver mothers attempt breastfeeding. That's the 8th highest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 75 percent.

•10.1 percent of births statewide are attended by midwives, compared to a national average of 7.3 percent.

•Denver has 61 midwives for every 1,000 births, the 9th highest in our survey. The national average is 37 midwives for every 1,000 births.

•With one acre of parkland for every 29 residents, there's 75 percent more public park space than average here, relative to population.

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

•Denver has 8.0 NICU facilities per 10,000 births, 2nd highest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 3.4 NICU facilities per 10,000 live births.

•State laws require stringent background checks for day-care workers.

•There are 8.5 licensed day care centers for every 1,000 children under 4 years. The average city in our survey has 5.9.

•Colorado devotes more money relative to population than most states to child car-seat-check stations.

Needs Improvement

•According to the Urban Mobility Report from Texas A&M University, Denver has one of the worst commutes of any city in our survey. It takes 40 percent longer to drive the same route during rush hour than in free-flowing traffic. That puts a lot more pressure on parents rushing to day care at the end of the day.

•7 percent of pregnant women here receive late or inadequate prenatal care. That's the 10th worst score in our survey, compared to an average of 5 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.

•Once Denver mothers begin breastfeeding, they are 13 percent less likely than average to continue through 6 months. That's the 11th lowest level of follow-through of any city in our report.

•In a comparison of inspection schedules for day-care centers, Colorado requires less frequent visits than average.

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