Save the Children: The State of the World's Mothers

Save the Children's 2012 report, The State of the World's Mothers, was released this month, and the U.S.A. has moved up a few spots, landing at 25 out of 165 countries!

The move, however, was  attributed to "improvements across education indicators," and not improvements specifically regarding maternal and child health and well-being. Every little bit counts!

The slightly more fightening statistic, though, was lifetime risk of maternal death--the chances that a girl of 15 will, at some time in her life, die of childbirth related causes in the United States. From the report:

"In the United States, mothers face a 1 in 2,100 risk of maternal death – the highest of any industrialized nation."


Allow me to break that down for you, using the National Security Council's lovely infographic, the Odds of Dying:

In the United States, you are 3 times more likely to die from a baby, than from a gun (Fire arms discharge, lifetime risk-- 1 in 6,609), and 3.5 times more likely to die from a baby than from plane crashes (Air and Space transport incidents, lifetime risk--1 in 7,178). You are 69 times more likely to die from a baby, than from a dog attack (Bitten/struck by dog, lifetime risk--1 in 144,899).


Here's an easy way to help spread the word about the sorry state of the United States' maternal healthcare system:

Ask your friends the next time you see them. How many of them are scared of guns? How about flying on an airplane--this particular fear ranks 9th according to About.com's list of phobias and fears (dogs ranked 5th).

Then put their fears in perspective.