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What's Good

•Just 2 percent of pregnant women in Houston admit to smoking during pregnancy, the 3rd lowest rate in our survey. Nationwide, 8 percent of pregnant women smoke.

•State laws require health insurance companies to provide or offer at least some coverage for fertility-related services.

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

•Day-care centers in Houston are required by state law to meet special requirements aimed at reducing the risk of SIDS. Many cities and states have less-stringent or no SIDS-prevention programs for day-cares.

Needs Improvement

•Air quality here is worse here than most cities in our survey. Air quality has been linked to childhood asthma and fertility rates, among other things.

•Houston has one doula for every 1,938 live births, the 4th lowest ratio in our survey. The national average is one doula per 649 live births.

•Houston has 2.0 NICU facilities per 10,000 births, 11th lowest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 3.4 NICU facilities per 10,000 live births.

•According to the Urban Mobility Report from Texas A&M University, Houston has one of the worst commutes of any city in our survey. It takes 42 percent longer to drive the same route during rush hour than in free-flowing traffic. That puts a lot more pressure on parents rushing to day care at the end of the day.

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