REPUBLIC OF CONGO WORST PLACE TO BE A MUM AND FINLAND IS THE BEST

The Mother’s Index, contained within the report, looks at 176 countries around the world that are succeeding – and failing – in saving the lives of mothers and their new-born babies.

It assesses mothers’ well-being using indicators of maternal health, under-five mortality, levels of women’s education, income, and political status.

The Nordic countries sweep the top spots while, for the first time, countries in sub-Saharan Africa take up each of the bottom ten places in the annual index.

A woman or girl in  Congo has a one in 30 chance of dying from maternal causes including childbirth but in Finland the risk is one.

Britain lagging behind

The UK comes 23rd on the list, with fewer women in Parliament and higher maternal and infant mortality rates than much of Europe.

According to the statistics, the UK now has a higher rate of under-five child death than 21 other European countries, including countries with lower GDPs such as Cyprus, Portugal and Czech Republic. 

Women in Britain are at a higher risk of dying during pregnancy or childbirth than women in less wealthier countries like Slovakia, Montenegro and Lithuania.

Some of the reasons behind Britain's relative low position on maternal and infant mortality include:

• The age of women having babies – due to teenage and IVF pregnancy rates, the UK has a higher proportion of young and older mothers than much of Europe 
• The poor health status of some pregnant women, including suffering from obesity or cardiac disease
• Poverty and inequality – women with partners who are unemployed are six times more likely to die from maternal causes than those with partners in work.

Nutrition key

Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, the poor health of mothers, where between 10 – 20 per cent are underweight, contributes to high rates of death for babies, as does the relatively high number of young mothers.

Other factors are low use of contraception, poor access to decent healthcare when pregnant and a severe shortage of health-workers.

While East Asia and the Pacific have made progress in cutting new-born deaths, in South Asian nations such as Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan and Nepal, child marriage and poor nutrition for mothers are factors in the region’s slow progress in reducing newborn deaths.

In order to combat rampant mother and baby mortality rates within developing nations, we're calling on world leaders to strengthen health systems so all mothers have access to skilled birth attendants.

In addition, ahead of the 8 June Hunger Summit in London, the underlying causes of newborn mortality – especially gender inequality and malnutrition – need special attention.

SOURCE:savethechildren