It Takes a Village
Our pals at the Today Show had a segment today on the top 5 cities to have a baby, and the May 2007 Expecting Club, not surprisingly, is talking about it. (Think they'll make any last-minute moves?!)
cl-charrah breaks it down: “They rank it based on affordability, breast feeding success rate, fertility clinics and whether they are covered by insurance, safety, birthing options, and several others… Mine of course does not rank at all! No surprise since West Virginia sucks – LOL.” She goes on to ask: “So how does your city rank, or does it? What did they get the worst ‘grade’ in?”
Other women weigh in:
“#3 - Minneapolis! Ok, so I don't live in the city proper, but one of its suburbs, but my fertility doc is in Mpls, and he's fabulous!”
“#14 - Charlotte, NC. I've been fairly happy with access to things in Charlotte.”
“Pittsburgh didn't even rank! LOL! I am not sure why! Oh well we don't have any plans to move so I guess we are just stuck where we are.”
There’s a lot of skepticism about the ratings, too.
“I can't believe that Boston tops the list! What a joke!...Childcare is really expensive - nearly $300 week at the cheaper places. The cost of housing is very expensive. And employers (at least in my field) are NOT very family friendly…The weather SUCKS 6-7 months out of the year… And yes, Children’s Hospital in Boston is great, but your baby would have to have a serious problem to go there. I don't know how other states are, but the cesarean section rate is very high, 25-40% at most hospitals. The hospital I plan to deliver at has a 40% cesarean rate!! I wouldn't trust those reports at all...”
“Evidently I live in one of the worst cities!!!! That really surprises me since I have had good luck w/ OB, fertility clinic, breast feeding consultants, etc.”
I think it’s funny that where I live, New York City, was commended for “moving up in the ratings,” though it still rates pretty low, at 26. My neighborhood is positively bursting with babies to the point that it’s kind of becoming a joke. But, I get the ratings (D+ for affordability – no kidding!).
What do you think? Is there anything to these ratings? Where does your city rank?
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hahaha i think that the today show segment was incredibly stupid lol my city, houston, was not even ranked..i dont feel there was anything to the ratings to be taken seriously..hopefully people are not picking up and leaving when they get pregnant.. :) overall, its an entertaining story, i guess haha
That is a great comment on a good Today Show story. We just linked to you from our front page. Would you please consider reposting your comment on The Today Show forum for us all to see? Thank you. :)
http://www-todayshow.com/
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Give me a break! The top 5 cities are all completely unaffordable!! The number of lactation consultants per capita is a great figure and all, but it doesn't matter much if you can't afford your mortgage!!
I must say having lived in pittsburgh, boston, philli, dc., and new york, pittsburgh is the best place to raise children. Low crime, cost of living is affordable, we get all of the seasons, and of course i was born and bred here!
Pittsburgher here too, don't forget world-class medical care, fantastic cultural opportunities for kids, and close-in suburbs with nationally ranked public schools.
Pittsburgher now in Oklahoma agrees. Pitt is great! Now for all of you who didnt rank, dont worry, if you read the article carefully their points are terrible! No one talked about crime or the fact that you cant get around and most importantly how the community acts. They just weighed in on the points of breastfeeding, doctors, and hospitals. Well of course there are going to be more contacts and facilities, its a bigger city!
Well, I don't live anywhere near those cities, but I think that Dothan, AL has been a very good place to have babies for me! Who cares what some article says? It's not like they went to each and every hospital in the nation to see how things worked, just a small sampling of hospitals on the fly for this article. I had great experiences with prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care with both of my girls, and we're all happy and healthy today. That's all I care about! :-)
Doctors, hospitals, even the availability of lactation consultants has been considered--but what of the culture? I believe it's important to be in a warm, friendly community when rearing children, that they see first-hand how to treat others well. People can't always be perfect models for children but being surrounded by a generally warm, loving community will foster something special in the individual.
It seems that there are a lot of good hospitals and doctors for women's health in San Francisco. But you practically have to be a millionaire to be able to live anywhere in CA, especially bay area. If you didn't live here 20 years ago, forget about moving here unless you make a 6-figure salary or want to share digs with several other people to split living expenses. Childcare is pretty affordable though. I wouldn't attribute breastfeeding to better laws though...just more progressive, liberal women who insist upon doing it, who refuse to fall back on formula, and for the same reason more support for it!
what about crime rates and school system. Honestly if I don't breast feed me child I am not going to die but if she's going to a horrible school that is just passing kids just to get them out of their class. Then I don't want to live there. Besides I had my first child in Germany and that was the best prenantal and post natal care ever. And I didn't have to pay an arm and a leg.
I'm originally from Pittsburgh, and it was actually a great city when I grew up there, and I agree, housing is affordable, you get all the seasons, and the schools are great. I now live in Las Vegas, NV. Not a good city to raise children in. The schools are horrible (ranked last-?), there are no OB's, too many malpractice suits. Wanna go back home, but can't afford to with the cost of living out here and raising my son. I do miss home though.
That is ridiculous! I live in MA, and Boston is 20min from my town, the child care is expensive, trying to buy a home is outrageous unless yor income is in the high 5's or 6 figures, and the employment, especially for my husband treats their people horribly! If we were able to, we would pick up and move in a heartbeat, unfortuneately, that's not possible for us, but it irritates me when people say that Boston is a top place to raise a family...I guess they don't take into consideration the middle & lower class families that are struggling by the skin of their teeth just to get by...unless your rich, don't live in Boston!
I raised 3 children through the dating time. They could date as a group with church events until 18.
Only one son wanted to date at 17 and I was able to solve to much alone time by sending his sister that was 14 along on the movie etc. dates. It helped them look forward to when they would be 18. My daughter never dated before 18 only with church events. She didn't want her brother to go with her on a date.
Teens are allowed to much alone time to early with not a whole lot of maturity and to much hormones going on.
My son is now marrried 5 years to the girl that he was dating when my daughter went on the date and we are expecting our first grandchild.
My daughter-in-law was very strick with her younger sister because of it. Teens want parents to give them structure so they can say my mom or dad won't let me. We need to allow them to be kids. Adult time comes to fast and they will get their time.
Right now i don't trust any dr they bost to help they don't . i have treid lot of meds nothing works i don't care any more my heath is bad i can't get my dr do any thing. WBR LeoP