Words by

grapevine

According to data compiled by Barnaheill – Save the Children, Iceland is the second-best country in the world to be a mother.
The report sought out information from countries around the world, considering factors such as the health, education and financial status of mothers there, as well as the health, education and nutrition of their children.
Ultimately, Norway came out on the top of the list, with Iceland following a close second. This is followed by Sweden, New Zealand, Denmark, Finland, Australia Belgium, Ireland and Holland. At the same time, Niger is the worst place to be a mother when considering health, education, availability of nutritious food and financial stability.
The contrasts between countries at the top and the bottom of the list is striking.
Icelandic and Norwegian women receive professional help with childbirth in 100% of instances, Icelandic women go to school for 20 years on average, the chance of an Icelandic child dying within its first five years is 1 in 500, and the chance an Icelandic mother will die in childbirth is 1 in 9,400. At the same time, only 1 in 3 women in Niger receive professional help with childbirth, women there go to school on average for only 4 years, the chance of a child dying within its first five years in Niger is 1 in 7, and the chance a mother will die in childbirth there is 1 in 16.
Sigríður Guðlaugsdóttir, a project director for Barnaheill – Save the Children, says that the report underlines the need for first world governments to provide assistance to developing countries in the form of nutritious children’s food, and to encourage women to breastfeed, which the study indicates increases the survival rate of young children.