Portland is the BEST

I read an article yesterday that made me all warm and fuzzy. Apparently, Portland is one of the best cities to have a baby. It is rated #1 actually.

The full article is here.

Here are some highlights from the article.

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

•The CDC also reports very low infant mortality rates for Oregon.

•Portland babies are 24 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, Portland has more specialty retailers of healthy/organic foods and vitamins than most places in our survey.

•88 percent of Portland mothers attempt breastfeeding. That's the 3rd highest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 75 percent.

•By six months of age, 56 percent of Portland babies are still being breastfed. That's the 6th highest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 43 percent.

•19.9 percent of Portland 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 2nd highest scoring city in this category. The average for cities in our survey is 12 percent.

•Once Portland mothers begin breastfeeding, they are 14 percent more likely than average to continue through 6 months. That's the 8th highest level of follow-through of any city in our report.

•Oregon has particularly progressive laws guaranteeing a nursing mother the right to breastfeed in public.

•14.3 percent of births statewide are attended by midwives, compared to a national average of 7.3 percent.

•Portland has one doula for every 146 live births, the 4th highest ratio in our survey. The national average is one doula per 649 live births.

•Portland has 116 midwives for every 1,000 births, the highest in our survey. The national average is 37 midwives for every 1,000 births.

•According to our survey of park departments, for every 10,000 residents, Portland has 150 miles of public trails and pathways for hiking and stroller use, the 4th highest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 79 trail miles for every 10,000 residents.

•Portland has 61 lactation consultants for every 10,000 live births, the 2nd 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: Portland's ratio of parks to residents is 1 : 1,827. The average in our survey is 1 : 3,790.

•Portland has plenty of high-risk pediatricians, 69 percent more than average per capita and the 9th highest in our survey.

•Portland has more OB-GYNs than average, the 5th highest in our survey.

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

•Portland has 21 licensed home day cares for every 1,000 children under 4 years, the 6th highest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 13.

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

•Pedestrians have a 63 percent lower than average risk of being killed by a motor vehicle here-among the safest in our survey.