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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.

•Just 2 percent of pregnant women here receive late or inadequate prenatal care, the 4th best score in our survey. In the average city in our survey, 5 percent receive late or inadequate care.

•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.

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

•Fresno 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.

•According to the Urban Mobility Report from Texas A&M University, Fresno has one of the best commutes of any city in our survey, it takes only 14 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

•According to our survey of park departments, for every 10,000 residents, Fresno has 9 miles of public trails and pathways for hiking and stroller use, the 6th 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 307 residents, there's 159 percent less public park space than average here, relative to population.

•Fresno has 10 lactation consultants for every 10,000 live births, the 7th lowest ratio in our survey. The average city in our survey has 23 lactation consultants per 10,000 live births.

•Expecting and new moms have few parks: Fresno's ratio of parks to residents is 1 : 7,071. The average in our survey is 1 : 3,790.

•There are 78 percent fewer advanced fertility clinics per capita than average here, the 8th lowest ratio in our survey.

•Fresno has 1.4 NICU facilities per 10,000 births, 5th lowest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 3.4 NICU facilities per 10,000 live births.

•Fresno has a limited number of high-risk pediatricians, 85 percent less than average per capita and the 4th 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.

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