US scores low on world motherhood rankings

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States has scored poorly on a campaign group's list of the best countries in which to be a mother, managing only 28th place, and bettered by many smaller and poorer countries. Norway topped the latest Save the Children "Mothers Index," followed by a string of other developed nations, while Afghanistan came in at the bottom of the table, below several African states. But the US showing put it behind countries such as the Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania; and eastern and central European states such as Croatia and Slovenia. Even debt-plagued Greece came in four places higher at 24. One factor that dragged the US ranking down was its maternal mortality rate, which at one in 4,800 is one of the highest in the developed world, said the report. More>>