The World’s Best and Worst Places to be a Mother

Countries are ranked on several factors . . . everything from maternity leave policies, to the rates of mothers and children dying during childbirth, to the political and economic status of women.

Norway was named the number one country in the world for mothers.  Afghanistan came in last place, at 164th.

As for the U.S. . . . yeah, we didn't do so well.  We only finished 31st, which is toward the bottom of the 43 first-world countries that were ranked in the study.

One of the main reasons is our rate of mothers dying from pregnancy-related causes.  Our rate is one in 2,100, which is the highest of ANY first-world country.  It's seven times higher than Italy or Ireland and 15 times higher than Greece.

We also have the least generous maternity leave policy . . . both in terms of time off and percentage of salary . . . of any developed country.

The top 10 countries for mothers are:  Norway, Australia, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France.

The bottom 10 are:  Afghanistan, Niger, Guinea-Bissau, Yemen, Chad, the Congo, Eritrea, Mali, Sudan, and the Central African Republic.

(Save the Children

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