---

What's Good

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

•According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Louisville-Jefferson is 24 percent more affordable than average for cities in our survey.

•With one acre of parkland for every 37 residents, there's 69 percent more public park space than average here, relative to population.

•Louisville-Jefferson has 5.0 NICU facilities per 10,000 births, 8th highest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 3.4 NICU facilities per 10,000 live births.

•Louisville-Jefferson has plenty of high-risk pediatricians, 125 percent more than average per capita and the 4th highest in our survey.

•Louisville-Jefferson has more OB-GYNs than average, the 7th highest in our survey.

•Louisville-Jefferson has 33 licensed home day cares for every 1,000 children under 4 years, the 3rd highest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 13.

•There are 8.0 licensed day care centers for every 1,000 children under 4 years. The average city in our survey has 5.9.

Needs Improvement

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

•18 percent of pregnant women in Louisville-Jefferson admit to smoking during pregnancy, the 2nd highest rate in our survey. Nationwide, 8 percent of pregnant women smoke.

•Babies here are 22 percent more likely than average to be born prematurely.

•Just 59 percent of Louisville-Jefferson mothers attempt breastfeeding. That's the 3rd lowest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 75 percent.

•By six months of age, 74 percent of Louisville-Jefferson babies aren't being breastfed at all. That's the 2nd poorest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 57 percent.

•7.5 percent of Louisville-Jefferson mothers breastfeed their babies exclusively (meaning no solids, formula or other liquids) for 6 months or longer as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. That's the 10th lowest percentage among cities in our survey. The average for our survey is 12 percent.

•Once Louisville-Jefferson mothers begin breastfeeding, they are 20 percent less likely than average to continue through 6 months. That's the 4th lowest level of follow-through of any city in our report.

•Louisville-Jefferson has 5 midwives for every 1,000 births, the 4th 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.

---