The UK not in the top 10 best countries to be a Mother

Save the Children have published their 16th annual “State of the World’s Mothers” report and the UK has only made it to number 24 in their world rankings.  Countries were ranked on five key factors – risk of maternal death, under-five mortality rate, educational status, economic achievement and political status. By this measure Norway, Finland and Iceland are in first, second and third place respectively, the UK has improved slightly from last year (when it was 26th) and the USA is in 33rd place, making it the worst performer of any developed country.

The report found that UK women face a 1-in-6,900 chance of dying while pregnant or giving birth, which is far greater than in Poland (1-in-19,800), in Austria (1-in-19,200) or in Belarus (1-in-45,200).  They also calculated that a child born in the UK is more than twice as likely to die before it reaches the age of five as one in Iceland or Luxembourg.

Kathryn Bolles, director of health and nutrition for Save the Children, said, “The ranking shows that the UK is underperforming as one of the wealthiest countries in the world.  The real indicator that brought the UK down is the representation of women in politics and government, which we know is strongly linked to maternal well-being.”

Other factors which may have had an impact on the higher risk to British mothers during pregnancy include greater levels of obesity, IVF, social deprivation and multiple pregnancies. Older maternal ages and poorer access to healthcare, especially among some ethnic minority communities and asylum seekers, may also contribute.

Read the full report here

Sky news article here

Independent article here