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What's Good

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

•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.

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

•Tucson has one doula for every 207 live births, the 7th highest ratio in our survey. The national average is one doula per 649 live births.

•Tucson has 47 midwives for every 1,000 births, the 7th highest in our survey. The national average is 37 midwives for every 1,000 births.

•Tucson has more OB-GYNs than average, the 9th highest in our survey.

•Arizona stands out in a measure of legislation related to cord blood education, research and related issues.

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

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

Needs Improvement

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

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

•Tucson has 0.9 NICU facilities per 10,000 births, 3rd lowest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 3.4 NICU facilities per 10,000 live births.

•There are just 4.4 licensed day care centers for every 1,000 children under 4 years. The average city in our survey has 5.9.

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