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What's Good

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

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

•Babies here are 21 percent less likely than average to be born prematurely.

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

•87 percent of Sacramento mothers attempt breastfeeding. That's the 4th highest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 75 percent.

•By six months of age, 57 percent of Sacramento babies are still being breastfed. That's the 3rd highest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 43 percent.

•California has particularly progressive laws guaranteeing a nursing mother the right to breastfeed in public.

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

•17.0 percent of Sacramento 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 5th highest scoring city in this category. The average for cities in our survey is 12 percent.

•Once Sacramento mothers begin breastfeeding, they are 16 percent more likely than average to continue through 6 months. That's the 5th highest level of follow-through of any city in our report.

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

•Sacramento has 17 licensed home day cares for every 1,000 children under 4 years, the 10th highest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 13.

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

Needs Improvement

•Hospital costs here are among the highest in our survey.

•According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Sacramento is 19 percent less affordable than average for cities in our survey.

•Sacramento has 1.9 NICU facilities per 10,000 births, 10th lowest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 3.4 NICU facilities per 10,000 live births.

•Sacramento has a limited number of high-risk pediatricians, 70 percent less than average per capita and the 6th lowest in our survey.

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

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

•Pedestrians have a 96 percent higher than average risk of being killed by a motor vehicle here-among the most dangerous in our survey.

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