California Magazine:

The best state for babies is California.

That's the word from a survey of national experts, child health advocates, and physicians conducted by Child Magazine which ranked the states on 20 categories--from childcare tax credits to the number of pediatricians to smoke-free restaurants. Here are the top 10 states for bringing up baby:

1. CALIFORNIA
California has 14 children's hospitals, the highest number in any state. It issues a state tax credit of up to $1,050 per year for childcare expenses and mandates special training in sudden infant death syndrome for firefighters and emergency medical personnel.

2. HAWAII
Hawaii requires licensed childcare providers to undergo background and child abuse registry checks, as well as state and FBI criminal background checks. State law makes it illegal to demote or penalize a nursing mother for expressing milk at work. Hawaii also has one pediatrician for every 936 children, the eighth-highest ratio in the country.

3. MAINE
The state offers lead poisoning testing for all children ages 1 and 2 who live or spend 10 hours a week in a house built before 1950 or one that has been remodeled in the last six months if it was built before 1978. Maine bans all cigarette smoking in restaurants and doubles the state childcare tax credit if an accredited facility is used.

4. MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts has the best pediatrician-child ratio in the country with 1 doctor for every 676 kids. It's the first state to require insurers to cover fertility diagnosis and treatment and boasts the lowest rate of infant mortality in the country at five deaths per 1,000 births.

5. RHODE ISLAND
The state's health department is required to prepare mercury alert notices explaining the danger for pregnant women of eating mercury-contaminated fish. Rhode Island has one pediatrician for every 725 children and less than 5 percent of the state's kids are uninsured.

6. MINNESOTA
Minnesota offers 114 car seat inspection stations, has air quality rated "very good" by the American Lung Association, and requires all childcare providers to receive training once every five years on how to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

7. IOWA
Newborns in Iowa receive more than 20 tests in a special state-mandated screening program. Less than 5 percent of the kids are uninsured, and the state boasts close to 1,500 licensed childcare centers.

8. CONNECTICUT
Connecticut has one pediatrician for every 847 kids, and nearly 80 percent of all 3-year-olds in the state are current with their immunizations. All restaurants in Connecticut are smoke-free.

9. VERMONT
Vermont has the highest number of car seat inspection stations per capita, and it operates the most licensed childcare centers per capita. The state also boasts the third-highest childhood vaccination rate in the country with 80 percent of toddlers receiving all appropriate shots.

10. NEW YORK
New York has excellent health care for babies with a large number of pediatricians, children's hospitals, and newborn screenings. It offers one of the best childcare state tax credits in the country and was the first state to enact pro-breastfeeding legislation.

We're in the top three for care: California during the school year. Maine in the summer. Lucky us!

~Jennifer