Sweden ‘second best’ place to become a mum

The ranking was published on Tuesday by Save the Children (Rädda Barnen), and included the organization’s new Birth Day Risk Index, which ranked 186 countries against each other to determine the safest and most dangerous places to be born.

Finland topped the list, but was closely followed by Sweden, where the risk of a woman dying from pregnancy-related causes is just one in 14,100. In comparison, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, every thirtieth woman is expected to die due to pregnancy-related causes. The entire bottom ten countries were all in sub-Saharan Africa.

Sweden’s neighbours all ranked well too, with Norway coming in third and Denmark placing sixth.

The United Kingdom finished 23rd in the ranking, with the US placing 30th.

Save The Children pointed to the top ten countries succeeding due to their high scores in the terms of the mothers’ health, educational, economic and political status.

The study states that three million children die every year within a month of being born, mostly from preventable causes. More than a third of these infants die on the first day of their life.

Save The Children added that by strengthening health systems, training more health workers, and by making proven solutions available to every mother and newborn who needs them, three quarters of these deaths could be prevented.

Top Ten Countries for Mothers

1. Finland

2. Sweden

3. Norway

4. Iceland

5. The Netherlands

6. Denmark

7. Spain

8. Belgium

9. Germany

10. Australia

TT/The Local/og

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