as seth & amy might say, *really*??!?

if you're a mom, then there are 27 countries where it's better for you to live than the united states.

27.

really??

greece, italy, ireland, iceland, bosnia, croatia, herzegovina, slovakia, the baltic states, latvia, lithuania, montenegro, singapore.

all better spots to be a mom than the u.s., according to save the children's 11th annual mothers' index.

really!? really.

so how did the u.s. of a rank so low?

1. one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world － 1 in 4,800 women dying of pregnancy-related causes.

2. an above-average under-five mortality rate － 8 in 1,000 births.

3. one of the lowest preschool enrollment rates in the developed world.

4. the stingiest maternity-leave policy, in terms of both time and money, among wealthy nations worldwide.

really??!?

the very best places to be a mom? norway, australia, iceland, sweden, denmark, new zealand, finland, the netherlands, belgium & germany.

norway's women are well-paid, have easy access to contraception, & are provided with one of the world's most generous maternity-leave policies.

the very worst? equatorial guinea, eritrea, sudan, mali, congo, yemen, guinea-bissau, chad, niger & afghanistan.

afghanistan has high infant mortality, low female life expectancy, & the world's worst primary education rate for girls.

another great reason to be grateful i'm not an afghan woman.

but 28th, america? really??!?


image source: gil hanson