ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida is one of the worst states in the country to have a baby, according to a new analysis from ConsumerAffairs.
The report ranked Florida as the sixth-worst state for childbirth in 2026, citing challenges tied to maternal healthcare access, affordability, postpartum support and maternal and infant health outcomes.
ConsumerAffairs analyzed data from several sources, including the March of Dimes, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. Census Bureau, FAIR Health, KFF, Bipartisan Policy Center, The Commonwealth Fund and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report found that Florida has the fourth-worst access to maternal healthcare in the country.
According to the analysis, 19.4% of Florida counties are considered maternity care deserts, meaning they do not have hospitals or birth centers with obstetric care and do not have obstetric providers.
The report also found that 76.2% of women in Florida receive adequate or intermediate prenatal care. Adequate prenatal care means care begins within the first four months of pregnancy, with at least 80% of recommended prenatal visits completed.
Florida also has about 74.7 maternal care providers for every 100,000 women, which is below the national average of 81.6 providers, according to ConsumerAffairs.
The state also ranked poorly for maternal and infant health outcomes.
The report found that for every 100,000 women who gave birth in Florida, 31.6 died within the following year from causes connected to their pregnancy.
ConsumerAffairs also found that Florida had 5.74 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.
The report said 10.7% of live births in Florida were preterm, meaning the baby was born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. It also found that 9% of babies were born with a low birth weight, meaning less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces.
Florida was not alone among Southern states near the bottom of the rankings.
ConsumerAffairs said eight of the 10 worst states for having a baby are in the South. The worst-ranked states were West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Alaska, Nevada, Alabama and Texas.
The report points to broader issues with healthcare access, affordability and postpartum support across many of the lowest-ranked states.
New Hampshire ranked as the best state to have a baby, followed by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Oregon.
ConsumerAffairs said its rankings were based on a weighted scoring system that considered maternal healthcare access, childbirth affordability, postpartum and family support, and maternal and infant outcomes.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2026 Cox Media Group
