A Website ranks Missouri as one of the Least Baby Friendly States

When it comes to "baby friendliness" one website ranks Missouri in the bottom 10 states, why is that? And what exactly does it mean to be in a good state for "baby friendliness" read all about it here.

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According to a new ranking from Wallethub.com, Missouri is ranked 45th out of the 50 states (and Washington D.C.) for "baby friendliness" and 35th overall for best states to have a baby in. Wallethub says on their site before the rankings...

"Aside from the difficulty of giving birth during a public health crisis, new mothers will also have to worry about the cost. One of the biggest expenses to keep in mind is medical bills. The average conventional delivery in the U.S. costs over $3,000 with insurance, and without insurance it could cost over $10,000."

So the goal of this ranking is to give mothers an idea of what states can help them deliver a baby for cost, medical care, and other factors. So what is "baby friendliness" and why is Missouri ranked so low in that category?

Wallethub uses a number of different factors to determine baby friendliness including things like parental leave policies, mom groups, child care centers, and birth rates, plus some other factors. The site's experts also ranked Missouri 49th for most midwives, and OB-GYNs per capita, which affected Missouri's overall ranking as well.

For our listeners on the Illinois side of the river, well Illinois faired a little better than Missouri being ranked 23rd overall and ranked in the top 15 for overall healthcare, to see the complete rankings for yourself click here!

I have to be honest I trust Wallethub's experts a lot, I feel as though for the most part they use a tone of data when compiling these lists, but since I have never had a baby I don't know if these rankings are fair or not, do you think Missouri deserves to be this low on the list for states to have a baby in?