Pregnancy News
How Healthy Are U.S. Babies?
By MARY KEARL, AOL BODY
Posted: 2008-01-23 11:04:49
Filed Under: Health, Healthy Living
Are you expecting or already a proud parent? Then welcome to America's newest baby boom, nicknamed "boomlet." In case you haven't heard, the U.S. is experiencing the largest boom in births since the 1960's.
Best Cities to Have a Baby
- Best Cities to Have a Baby
"Best Cities in America to Have a Baby"
Are you living in a city that will offer a healthy pregnancy and delivery for your newborn? Are the health care, safety and services necessary to raiseyour newborn child available? See if your city made it to the top ten cities on Fit Pregnancy's "Best Cities in America to Have a Baby." - Best Cities to Have a Baby
Portland, Ore.
Fit Pregnancy says "almost everything" is great about Portland. Healthy birth weight? Check. Portland newborns averaged in the 93 percentile in terms of size. Moms will love this stat: Portland had almost double the number of parks per capita that the average city Fit Pregnancy surveyed had. Babies were also more likely to be breastfed in Portland than in any of the other cities surveyed. - Best Cities to Have a Baby
Minneapolis, Minn.
With a median home price of $220,000 and state laws to protect nursing mothers' rights to breastfeed or pump in public, this was an obvious pick for Fit Pregnancy's number two slot. Bonus: the city also provides ample family leave and disability in comparison with the other states that were reviewed. - Best Cities to Have a Baby
San Francisco, Calif.
San Francisco's coastal weather, high number of fertility specialists, and low infant-mortality rate helped it earn third place for "Best Cities to Have a Baby." The downside? High cost of living and high hospital costs could make this city cost prohibitive for many expecting parents. - Best Cities to Have a Baby
Seattle, Wash.
This city really knows how to treat its infants' nutritional needs. Fit Pregnancy's report found that is had more lactation consultants per 1,000 live births than any other city included in the survey. Plus, in 2007, more Seattle mothers nursed exclusively for six months after their delivery than in any of the other cities. - Best Cities to Have a Baby
Denver, Colo.
Mountains aren't the only high points for this city. Denver had 37 percent more hospital birthing rooms per capita than the average in Fit Pregnancy's findings. Denver's also home to eight neonatal intensive care units for ever 10,000 births (second only to Baltimore). Other plusses for parents to consider: a small number of pedestrian fatalities and a large number of public parks. Children's Hospital Denver was also selected as the fourth best pediatrics hospital in U.S. News and World Reports' "Best Hospitals of 2007." - Best Cities to Have a Baby
Boston, Mass.
A state law requires private insurers and the state's public-assistance program, MassHealth, to provide coverage for fertility services (including in vitro fertilization) to patients have been unable to conceive for one year or longer. Plus, "Boston area hospitals attract some of the most talented minds in medicine," reports Fit Pregnancy. U.S. News and World Report also ranked Children's Hospital Boston as the second best hospital for pediatrics in its "Best Hospitals in 2007." - Best Cities to Have a Baby
Omaha, Neb.
Relatively low hospital and housing costs, combined with generous tax breaks for families is why Omaha's affordable for expecting parents, and why it is Fit Pregnancy's seventh pick. Plus, Dad and Moms worried about their safety can be assured by the low violent crime rate, low incidence of pedestrian deaths and well-rated air quality (reducing risk of infertility and lowering baby's chance of childhood asthma). - Best Cities to Have a Baby
Austin, Texas
Austin has a lot to offer those wanting to start a family -- among them are a state law that requires insurance to cover certain fertility services and a violent crime rate thatwas half the average for cities surveyed. Pregnant women in Austin were also found to be half as likely to smoke as women from the other cities surveyed, thus lowering risk of SIDS and illnesses caused by secondhand smoke. - Best Cities to Have a Baby
Albuquerque, N.M.
Albuquerque tops the list for ratio of licensed home day care to children under 4. Fit Pregnancy also recognized it for its availability of open spaces and number ofmidwives per 1,000 live births (second only to Portland).
According to an Associated Press review of birth statistics, which examined all birth rates provided by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) from 1909 to 2006, birth rates haven't been so high in this country since 1961, during the last of the Baby Boom years. Total births in 2006 jumped 3 percent from 2005, the largest single-year increase since 1989, according to the CDC's preliminary statistics.
The U.S. is out-birthing every country in continental Europe, as well as Australia, Canada and Japan, but does the U.S. really provide the healthiest environment for newborns?
Every year Fit Pregnancy reviews the top 50 largest cities in terms of population to determine the "Best Cities in America to Have a Baby," examining each for 50 criteria, including fertility services, access to hospitals and doctors, affordability, maternal and infant health risks to whether a city is stroller-friendly and what birthing options are readily available. The complete report and list of the "Best Cities in America to Have a Baby" is available in the February/March issue of Fit Pregnancy.
How the States Rank
Portland, Ore. was selected as the best ranked city based on several factors including the city's low maternal mortality rate, above average number of OB-GYNs and small number of low-weight births. However, Oregon ranks a low 33rd in the nation for adequacy of prenatal care and 39th for immunization coverage of children ages 19 to 35 months.
Other state health statistics include low preventable hospitalizations, primary care physicians per capita and a low violent-crime rate, according to "America's Health Rankings," published by the United Health Foundation.
The U.S. is out-birthing every country in continental Europe, as well as Australia, Canada and Japan, but does the U.S. really provide the healthiest environment for newborns?
Every year Fit Pregnancy reviews the top 50 largest cities in terms of population to determine the "Best Cities in America to Have a Baby," examining each for 50 criteria, including fertility services, access to hospitals and doctors, affordability, maternal and infant health risks to whether a city is stroller-friendly and what birthing options are readily available. The complete report and list of the "Best Cities in America to Have a Baby" is available in the February/March issue of Fit Pregnancy.
How the States Rank
Portland, Ore. was selected as the best ranked city based on several factors including the city's low maternal mortality rate, above average number of OB-GYNs and small number of low-weight births. However, Oregon ranks a low 33rd in the nation for adequacy of prenatal care and 39th for immunization coverage of children ages 19 to 35 months.
Other state health statistics include low preventable hospitalizations, primary care physicians per capita and a low violent-crime rate, according to "America's Health Rankings," published by the United Health Foundation.
Fit Pregnancy recognized Minneapolis as the second best city to have a baby, for being the city with the "lowest health risk." According to "America's Health Rankings," this attention to wellness upheld for the most part statewide. Minnesota is ranked among the top ten states for many health concerns like low infant-mortality rate, low premature-death rate, immunization coverage for children ages 19 to 35 months and also has a low rate of uninsured. On the unhealthy side, since 1990, the population of obese people in Minnesota has risen from about 10 percent to 25 percent, and the state is ranked 27 for adequacy of prenatal care.
While there are instances of exceptions for stellar health care and health policies, across the nation, health care is still a mixed bag. The average daily cost of a hospital room in Oakland, Calif. at $1,947 is four times greater than in Oklahoma City, at $456, Fit Pregnancy reports. And while the U.S. is leading industrialized countries in baby-making, the U.S. lags behind in international rankings for health care system performance, preventable death rates, and low infant mortality rates.
In 2000, the U.S. heath system, which spent a high portion of its gross domestic product than any other country, was ranked 37 of 191 countries by the World Health Report for its performance. Italy, Great Britain, and Singapore all ranked higher than the U.S. On top of that, in 2005, 8.3 million or 11.2 percent of all American children were uninsured, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
In terms of preventable deaths due to treatable conditions, the U.S. came in last place in a ranking of 19 leading industrialized nations, according to research from the journal Health Affairs. If the U.S. health care system performed as well as France, Japan and Australia, the top three countries, there would be 101,000 fewer deaths in the United States per year, the study found. The CIA World Fact Book reports the U.S. infant mortality rate as higher than that in Singapore (rank 221) Sweden, France, Germany, Canada, Great Britain, and just above Cuba's rate. At 6.37 deaths per 1,000 live births, infant mortality U.S. (rank 180) is almost as high as it is in the former Soviet Bloc countries of Belarus and Croatia.
The rising birth rate in the U.S. has been linked to the increasing Hispanic-American population. In 2006, Hispanic Americans accounted for nearly one-quarter of all U.S. births, and non-Hispanic white women and other racial and ethnic groups had increasing birth rates, according to data from the CDC.
Every year Hispanic Magazine reports the "Top 10 Cities for Hispanics," examining several factors, including cost of living, average home cost, Hispanic population, violent crime, pollution, health insurance costs, unemployment rates and measures of school success. The top cities were from the South Western region, including Albuquerque and Austin topping the list at first and second, and Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio and Tucson, made the list too.
Still, across the country, Hispanics have the highest uninsured rates of any racial or ethnic group within the United States, according to the CDC. In 2004, Puerto Ricans and Cubans were the sub-groups with the most uninsured, at 47.3 percent and 57.9 percent uninsured respectively.
Fertility rates among Hispanics are about 40 percent higher than the U.S. overall average -- which raises the question of whether the U.S. is ready to become "bilingual" friendly and if Hispanic babies and children have similar health to their non-Hispanic counterparts.
While there are instances of exceptions for stellar health care and health policies, across the nation, health care is still a mixed bag. The average daily cost of a hospital room in Oakland, Calif. at $1,947 is four times greater than in Oklahoma City, at $456, Fit Pregnancy reports. And while the U.S. is leading industrialized countries in baby-making, the U.S. lags behind in international rankings for health care system performance, preventable death rates, and low infant mortality rates.
In 2000, the U.S. heath system, which spent a high portion of its gross domestic product than any other country, was ranked 37 of 191 countries by the World Health Report for its performance. Italy, Great Britain, and Singapore all ranked higher than the U.S. On top of that, in 2005, 8.3 million or 11.2 percent of all American children were uninsured, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
In terms of preventable deaths due to treatable conditions, the U.S. came in last place in a ranking of 19 leading industrialized nations, according to research from the journal Health Affairs. If the U.S. health care system performed as well as France, Japan and Australia, the top three countries, there would be 101,000 fewer deaths in the United States per year, the study found. The CIA World Fact Book reports the U.S. infant mortality rate as higher than that in Singapore (rank 221) Sweden, France, Germany, Canada, Great Britain, and just above Cuba's rate. At 6.37 deaths per 1,000 live births, infant mortality U.S. (rank 180) is almost as high as it is in the former Soviet Bloc countries of Belarus and Croatia.
The rising birth rate in the U.S. has been linked to the increasing Hispanic-American population. In 2006, Hispanic Americans accounted for nearly one-quarter of all U.S. births, and non-Hispanic white women and other racial and ethnic groups had increasing birth rates, according to data from the CDC.
Every year Hispanic Magazine reports the "Top 10 Cities for Hispanics," examining several factors, including cost of living, average home cost, Hispanic population, violent crime, pollution, health insurance costs, unemployment rates and measures of school success. The top cities were from the South Western region, including Albuquerque and Austin topping the list at first and second, and Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio and Tucson, made the list too.
Still, across the country, Hispanics have the highest uninsured rates of any racial or ethnic group within the United States, according to the CDC. In 2004, Puerto Ricans and Cubans were the sub-groups with the most uninsured, at 47.3 percent and 57.9 percent uninsured respectively.
Fertility rates among Hispanics are about 40 percent higher than the U.S. overall average -- which raises the question of whether the U.S. is ready to become "bilingual" friendly and if Hispanic babies and children have similar health to their non-Hispanic counterparts.
2008-01-16 07:00:10
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