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What's Good

•According to the Urban Mobility Report from Texas A&M University, Cleveland has one of the best commutes of any city in our survey, it takes only 9 percent longer to drive the same route during rush hour than in free-flowing traffic. That takes a lot of pressure off parents rushing to day care at the end of the day.

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

•Cleveland has one doula for every 184 live births, the 6th highest ratio in our survey. The national average is one doula per 649 live births.

•There are 51 percent more advanced fertility clinics per capita than average here, the 9th highest ratio in our survey.

•Cleveland has 20 licensed home day cares for every 1,000 children under 4 years, the 7th highest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 13.

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

Needs Improvement

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

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

•Cleveland babies are 46 percent more likely than average to be born with low birth weight.

•Babies here are 31 percent more likely than average to be born prematurely.

•Just 66 percent of Cleveland mothers attempt breastfeeding. That's the 8th 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.

•With one acre of parkland for every 298 residents, there's 151 percent less public park space than average here, relative to population.

•Cleveland has 11 lactation consultants for every 10,000 live births, the 8th lowest ratio in our survey. The average city in our survey has 23 lactation consultants per 10,000 live births.

•Cleveland's violent crime rate is 51 percent higher than average, the 7th highest in our survey, in fact.

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