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What's Good

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

•According to data from the CDC, maternal mortality in Hawaii is especially low.

•Hawaii allows greater dependent-related tax breaks than most.

•22 percent of babies in Hawaii 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.

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

•The local climate is especially mild - perfect for getting out and working off pregnancy weight gain.

•15.8 percent of Honolulu 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, making it the 9th highest scoring city in this category. The average for cities in our survey is 12 percent.

•Honolulu has one doula for every 225 live births, the 8th highest ratio in our survey. The national average is one doula per 649 live births.

•Expecting and new moms have plenty of parks: Honolulu's ratio of parks to residents is 1 : 1,306. The average in our survey is 1 : 3,790.

•Honolulu has 32 lactation consultants for every 10,000 live births, the 9th highest ratio in our survey. The average city in our survey has 23 lactation consultants per 10,000 live births.

•State laws require health insurance companies to provide or offer at least some coverage for fertility-related services.

•There are 82 percent more advanced fertility clinics per capita than average here, the highest ratio in our survey.

•Honolulu has more OB-GYNs than average, the 3rd highest in our survey.

Needs Improvement

•According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Honolulu is 59 percent less affordable than average for cities in our survey.

•Just 3.8 percent of births statewide are attended by midwives, compared to a national average of 7.3 percent.

•According to our survey of park departments, for every 10,000 residents, Honolulu has 11 miles of public trails and pathways for hiking and stroller use, the 8th lowest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 79 trail miles for every 10,000 residents.

•Honolulu has 1.7 NICU facilities per 10,000 births, 8th lowest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 3.4 NICU facilities per 10,000 live births.

•Honolulu has only 5 licensed home day cares for every 1,000 children under 4 years, the 7th lowest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 13.

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

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

•Honolulu has an 81 percent higher property crime rate than average, the 2nd highest in our survey.

•Pedestrians have a 53 percent higher than average risk of being killed by a motor vehicle here-among the most dangerous in our survey.

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