10 Best Countries for Moms

Scandinavia is definitely a good place to be a Mom. Finland, which often places high on education and quality of life in other international lists, is followed by Sweden at no. 2 and Norway at no. 3. In fact, all but one of the top 10 countries where Moms are the safest are European, with Australia placing tenth. The ten unsafest places for mothers are all located in Central Africa, with the Democratic Republic of Congo ranking worst. An estimated 98% of newborn and 99% of maternal deaths occur in developing countries where basic health care services are scarce.
 The best news to emerge from the report is a dramatic decrease in maternal and child deaths overall. The annual number of children under age 5 who die each year dropped by more than 40%, from 12 million to 6.9 million, while the number of maternal deaths declined almost 50%, from 543,00 to 287,000, since 1990. An influx of community health workers has also helped countries like Tanzania and New Zealand to reduce infant morality rates. more