---

What's Good

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

•New York allows greater dependent-related tax breaks than most.

•Just 2 percent of pregnant women in New York admit to smoking during pregnancy, the 2nd lowest rate in our survey. Nationwide, 8 percent of pregnant women smoke.

•Once New York mothers begin breastfeeding, they are 21 percent more likely than average to continue through 6 months. That's the 3rd highest level of follow-through of any city in our report.

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

•There are 1,194 percent more fertility doctors per capita here than average-the 8th highest ratio in our survey.

•New York's violent crime rate is 39 percent lower than average, the 10th lowest in our survey, in fact.

•New York has a 67 percent lower property crime rate than average, the lowest in our survey.

•Pedestrians have a 59 percent lower than average risk of being killed by a motor vehicle here-among the safest in our survey.

Needs Improvement

•According to data from the CDC, maternal mortality in New York is especially high.

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

•At $100, the average doctor's office visit here is the 7th highest in our survey, compared to a national average of $82.

•According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, New York is 59 percent less affordable than average for cities in our survey.

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

•According to our survey of park departments, for every 10,000 residents, New York has 308 miles of public trails and pathways for hiking and stroller use, the 11th lowest 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 283 residents, there's 138 percent less public park space than average here, relative to population.

•Expecting and new moms have few parks: New York's ratio of parks to residents is 1 : 4,564. The average in our survey is 1 : 3,790.

•New York has 10 lactation consultants for every 10,000 live births, the 6th lowest ratio in our survey. The average city in our survey has 23 lactation consultants per 10,000 live births.

•There are 37 percent fewer advanced fertility clinics per capita than average here, the 10th lowest ratio in our survey.

•New York has 1.5 NICU facilities per 10,000 births, 6th lowest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 3.4 NICU facilities per 10,000 live births.

•New York has a limited number of high-risk pediatricians, 69 percent less than average per capita and the 7th lowest in our survey.

•New York has fewer OB-GYNs than average, the 5th lowest in our survey.

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

•There are just 3.8 licensed day care centers for every 1,000 children under 4 years. The average city in our survey has 5.9.

•New York devotes less money relative to population than most states to child car-seat-check stations.

---