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What's Good

•State laws require stringent background checks for day-care workers.

•Philadelphia has a 23 percent lower property crime rate than average, the 9th lowest in our survey.

Needs Improvement

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

•The CDC reports very high infant mortality rates for Pennsylvania.

•16 percent of pregnant women in Philadelphia admit to smoking during pregnancy, the 5th highest rate in our survey. Nationwide, 8 percent of pregnant women smoke.

•Philadelphia babies are 29 percent more likely than average to be born with low birth weight.

•Babies here are 11 percent more likely than average to be born prematurely.

•12 percent of pregnant women here receive late or inadequate prenatal care. That's the 3rd worst score in our survey, compared to an average of 5 percent.

•Just 53 percent of Philadelphia mothers attempt breastfeeding. That's the 2nd lowest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 75 percent.

•By six months of age, 68 percent of Philadelphia babies aren't being breastfed at all. That's the 6th poorest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 57 percent.

•According to our survey of park departments, for every 10,000 residents, Philadelphia has 50 miles of public trails and pathways for hiking and stroller use, the 10th lowest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 79 trail miles for every 10,000 residents.

•Expecting and new moms have few parks: Philadelphia's ratio of parks to residents is 1 : 16,648. The average in our survey is 1 : 3,790.

•Philadelphia has 4 lactation consultants for every 10,000 live births, the lowest ratio in our survey. The average city in our survey has 23 lactation consultants per 10,000 live births.

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

•There are 49 percent fewer advanced fertility clinics per capita than average here, the 6th lowest ratio in our survey.

•Philadelphia has only 6 licensed home day cares for every 1,000 children under 4 years, the 8th lowest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 13.

•There are no state laws requiring day care workers to undergo special SIDS prevention training. Many other states mandate such training.

•Philadelphia's violent crime rate is 52 percent higher than average, the 6th highest in our survey, in fact.

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