Figuring out where to start a family comes with a lot of considerations: do you want to be close to your parents and other immediate family members? Are the neighborhoods kid-friendly? Is the school district reputable? How far are you from major cities, and what will your morning commute be like? These are all important things to think about, but perhaps the most important is about the safety and expense of the nearby hospitals. This is where you’ll be giving birth and where your family will go if they’re really sick. There’s a new study shines some light on the safety of hospitals, ranking the best and worst places to give birth in the United States.
The study, done by financial website WalletHub, compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across “26 key measures of cost, health care accessibility, as well as baby- and family-friendliness.” They looked at things like hospital conventional-delivery charges, annual average infant-care costs, and the availability of pediatricians. And in case you weren’t thinking about baby finances quite yet, listen up: WalletHub pointed out that, according to The Economist, the average conventional delivery in the U.S. costs over $10,000. Yikes.
The site came up with the three best states to give birth in, as well as the three worst. Who made the cut?
As far as the best states, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Minnesota won big, with Vermont in first place, Massachusetts second, and Minnesota third. The worst states went to South Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi, with Mississippi coming in last.
Vermont offers the lowest infant mortality rate, the most staffed midwives, OB-GYNs, pediatricians, and family doctors, as well as the most child care centers. Mississippi was one of the states with the highest infant mortality rate and the fewest midwives and OB-GYNs.
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These weren’t the only notable results. The study also found that Maryland, New Hampshire, and North Dakota ranked in the lowest hospital delivery charges for both conventional delivery and cesarean delivery. Besides Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and California were all among the lowest infant mortality rates. The highest also went to Delaware, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama.
These are definitely statistics to think about when trying to decide where you want to give birth and raise a family. While they don’t necessarily mean you have to move if you live in, say, Mississippi, but these factors are absolutely worth looking into.
