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What's Good

•According to data from the CDC, maternal mortality in Washington is especially low.

•The CDC reports very low infant mortality rates for Washington.

•Just 4 percent of pregnant women in Seattle admit to smoking during pregnancy, the 8th lowest rate in our survey. Nationwide, 8 percent of pregnant women smoke.

•Seattle babies are 21 percent less likely than average to be born with low birth weight.

•Babies here are 21 percent less likely than average to be born prematurely.

•Relative to population, Seattle has more specialty retailers of healthy/organic foods and vitamins than most places in our survey.

•90 percent of Seattle mothers attempt breastfeeding. That's the 2nd highest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 75 percent.

•By six months of age, 67 percent of Seattle babies are still being breastfed. That's the highest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 43 percent.

•31.5 percent of Seattle 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, making it the highest scoring city in this category. The average for cities in our survey is 12 percent.

•Once Seattle mothers begin breastfeeding, they are 32 percent more likely than average to continue through 6 months. That's the highest level of follow-through of any city in our report.

•Seattle has one doula for every 53 live births, the 2nd highest ratio in our survey. The national average is one doula per 649 live births.

•Seattle has 64 midwives for every 1,000 births, the 3rd highest in our survey. The national average is 37 midwives for every 1,000 births.

•Seattle has 80 lactation consultants for every 10,000 live births, the highest ratio in our survey. The average city in our survey has 23 lactation consultants per 10,000 live births.

•Expecting and new moms have plenty of parks: Seattle's ratio of parks to residents is 1 : 1,355. The average in our survey is 1 : 3,790.

•There are more advanced fertility clinics per capita than average here, the 8th highest ratio in our survey.

•There are 27 percent more fertility doctors per capita here than average-the 3rd highest ratio in our survey.

•Seattle has more OB-GYNs than average, the 4th highest in our survey.

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

•Day-care centers in Seattle 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

•At $100, the average doctor's office visit here is the 7th highest in our survey, compared to a national average of $82.

•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.

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

•Seattle has 1.8 NICU facilities per 10,000 births, 9th lowest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 3.4 NICU facilities per 10,000 live births.

•Seattle has a 21 percent higher property crime rate than average, the 9th highest in our survey.