Site ranks NM as one of worst states to have a baby

New Mexico ranks 43rd among 50 states and the District of Columbia in the “2017 Best and Worst States to Have a Baby.”

The just released report is from WalletHub, the personal finance website that has already ranked Albuquerque and New Mexico in a number of studies as among the worst in the nation for its economy, jobs, education system, school safety, DWI, crime rate, quality of life for police officers, and places in which to raise a child.

WalletHub analyzed data across 20 key measures of cost, health care accessibility and baby-friendliness. The data set ranges from hospital conventional-delivery charges, to annual average infant-care costs, to pediatricians per capita.

The best state in which to have a baby is Vermont, while the worst is Mississippi, the report says.

While birthing costs vary from state to state, Americans in general pay the highest costs in the world, with an average delivery bill approaching $11,000, says the International Federation of Health Plans, as quoted in the WalletHub study.

Add a C-section to the blessed event and the cost rises by nearly $5,300. Without maternity health coverage, including Medicaid, the cost of giving birth is expected to double or triple in the future, the IFHP says.

Although New Mexico ranked 43rd on a scale with 1 as the best and 51 as the worst, the state fared better in specific key measurements: it ranked 21st in hospital cesarean-delivery charges; 39th in low birth weight babies; 41st in number of pediatricians and family doctors per capita; 23rd in child-care centers per capita; and 34th in familyfriendly parental leave policies.