Save the Children releases annual global mother's index

Afghanistan is "the worst place to be a mother, with women having a life expectancy of 45 years - the world's lowest - and one of every 11 women dying in childbirth," according to Save the Children's annual State of the World's Mothers report, the Associated Press/Seattle Times reports.

Norway tops the list as the best place in the world for mothers, followed by Australia and Iceland. "Released every year in the days before Mother's Day, the international nonprofit group's ranking analyzes the maternal and child indicators and other published information of 164 countries," the news service writes (Snow, 5/2). Eight out of 10 of the world's worst countries to be a mother are in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the report, according to a press release from Save the Children. "In many countries, vaccines, antibiotics, and care during pregnancy are hard to reach and as a result child and maternal death rates are very high," Mary Beth Powers, head of Save the Children's newborn and child survival campaign, said (5/3).

Midwife Day Highlights Global Shortage Of Caretakers

There is a global shortage of 350,000 midwives, Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the UNFPA, said in statement marking the International Day of the Midwife, set for May 5, the Nairobi Star/allAfrica.com reports. "Osotimehin said as a result of the shortage, women and their newborn babies die from complications that would be prevented by a health worker with skills, right equipment and support," the publication writes (Gichana, 5/2).

"More than one in three women in developing countries give birth alone - or with only relatives to oversee what is one of the most dangerous passages they will ever undergo. In some of the poorest countries, as few as 13 percent of all deliveries are assisted by a midwife or a health worker with midwifery skills," according to the statement. Osotimehin said that funding human resources for health is "one of the soundest investments a county can make" (5/5).


http://www.kaiserhealthnews.orgThis article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Comments

  1. Preeti Preeti India says:

    Documentary - "No Women Should Die Giving Birth: Maternal Mortality in Sierra Leone" illustrates the problem women face when giving birth in Sierra Leone. One in eight women die giving birth in Sierra Leone as opposed to one in 4000 in developed countries. In a country where over 50% live on less then one dollar a day and a quarter live in extreme poverty, the poorer you are the more likely you are to die giving birth.

    To watch please visit - http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/4897

  2. mona mona Austria says:

    How is it possible that Belgium is above Austria regarding the mother index. In Belgium mothers are obliged to go to work after 3 months of the date where they gave birth and in Austria it is 3 YEARS!!! I really doubt this statistics!!!

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