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What's Good

•At $64, the average doctor's office visit here is the 3rd lowest in our survey, compared to a national average of $82.

•According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Wichita is 28 percent more affordable than average for cities in our survey.

•Just 3 percent of pregnant women here receive late or inadequate prenatal care, the 9th best score in our survey. In the average city in our survey, 5 percent receive late or inadequate care.

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

•Pedestrians have an 81 percent lower than average risk of being killed by a motor vehicle here-among the safest in our survey.

•According to the Urban Mobility Report from Texas A&M University, Wichita has one of the best commutes of any city in our survey, it takes only 10 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.

Needs Improvement

•Babies here are 11 percent less likely than average to be born prematurely.

•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.

•Just 3.5 percent of births statewide are attended by midwives, compared to a national average of 7.3 percent.

•Wichita has one doula for every 979 live births, the 9th lowest ratio in our survey. The national average is one doula per 649 live births.

•Wichita has 37 midwives for every 1,000 births, the lowest in our survey. The national average is 37 midwives for every 1,000 births.

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

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

•Wichita has a 3 percent higher property crime rate than average, the 5th highest in our survey.

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