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What's Good

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

•There are 24 percent more fertility doctors per capita here than average-the 10th highest ratio in our survey.

•Nashville-Davidson has plenty of high-risk pediatricians, 107 percent more than average per capita and the 5th highest in our survey.

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

•There are 9.0 licensed day care centers for every 1,000 children under 4 years. The average city in our survey has 5.9.

•Pedestrians have a 60 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, Nashville-Davidson has one of the best commutes of any city in our survey, it takes only 18 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

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

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

•12 percent of pregnant women here receive late or inadequate prenatal care. That's the 4th worst score in our survey, compared to an average of 5 percent.

•32 percent of babies in Tennessee are born via Cesarean section, among the highest in our survey. The average is 27 percent.

•By six months of age, 67 percent of Nashville-Davidson babies aren't being breastfed at all. That's the 8th poorest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 57 percent.

•Once Nashville-Davidson mothers begin breastfeeding, they are 18 percent less likely than average to continue through 6 months. That's the 5th lowest level of follow-through of any city in our report.

•Nashville-Davidson has one doula for every 2,184 live births, the 3rd lowest ratio in our survey. The national average is one doula per 649 live births.

•Expecting and new moms have few parks: Nashville-Davidson's ratio of parks to residents is 1 : 5,065. The average in our survey is 1 : 3,790.

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

•Nashville-Davidson has only 3 licensed home day cares for every 1,000 children under 4 years, the 3rd lowest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 13.

•Nashville-Davidson's violent crime rate is 49 percent higher than average, the 9th highest in our survey, in fact.

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