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What's Good

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

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

•According to our survey of park departments, for every 10,000 residents, Milwaukee has 106 miles of public trails and pathways for hiking and stroller use, the 9th highest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 79 trail miles for every 10,000 residents.

•With one acre of parkland for every 38 residents, there's 68 percent more public park space than average here, relative to population.

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

•Milwaukee has 23 licensed home day cares for every 1,000 children under 4 years, the 5th highest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 13.

•Day-care centers in Milwaukee are required by state law to meet special requirements aimed at reducing the risk of SIDS. Many cities and states have less-stringent or no SIDS-prevention programs for day-cares.

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

Needs Improvement

•At $92, the average doctor's office visit here is the 11th highest in our survey, compared to a national average of $82.

•The CDC reports very high infant mortality rates for Wisconsin.

•12 percent of pregnant women in Milwaukee admit to smoking during pregnancy, the 8th highest rate in our survey. Nationwide, 8 percent of pregnant women smoke.

•Milwaukee babies are 12 percent more likely than average to be born with low birth weight.

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

•Just 65 percent of Milwaukee mothers attempt breastfeeding. That's the 7th lowest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 75 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.

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

•Milwaukee has fewer OB-GYNs than average, the 11th lowest in our survey.

•Milwaukee has a 19 percent higher property crime rate than average, the 10th highest in our survey.

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