We interrupt our previously scheduled Mother’s Day festivities for the following breaking news . . .

If you are a mother in the United States, it sucks to be you. According to Save the Children’s latest “Mothers Index,” the United States ranks number 28th among the best places in the world to be a mother, following notable countries like Estonia, Latvia, Croatia and Slovenia. Even Greece ranks higher than us.

Our low ranking can be attributed to our high maternal mortality and under-five mortality rates, in addition to our low preschool enrollment numbers and stingy maternity leave policy. In other words, women in the United States are more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes, our children are more likely to die before their fifth birthdays, too few of our children enroll in preschool, and we have the least generous maternity leave policy of any wealthy nation.

So what does this all mean? Our country has a lot of work to do to improve the health and well-being of women and children, particularly in the areas of health care, education and economic opportunities.

In the meantime, whatever you were planning to purchase for the special mothers in your life to demonstrate your appreciation for their great and selfless sacrifices should at least be doubled in value to help make up for this travesty.

Learn more about Rozalynn

Read more from the Parents Panel:

• Horse sense for parents
• Why, South Carolina?
• Burning the candle at both ends
• The benefits of a built-in babysitter
• Do you want fries with that?

Categories: *Mommy Advocate by Rozalynn Goodwin, All Articles, Hot Topics, Parents Panel
Tags: features