U.S. ranks 25th best place to be a mom

WESTPORT, Conn., May 9 (UPI) -- Norway ranks No. 1, Niger last, and the United States is No. 25 among 43 developed countries as the best places to be a mother, a children's charity said.

In The Best and Worst Places to Be a Mom ranking, Save the Children compared 165 countries worldwide. Following Norway as the best place to be a mom were: Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand, Denmark, Finland, Australia, Belgium, Ireland with the Netherlands and the United Kingdom tied for 10th.

The State of the World's Mothers report analyzed factors such as a mother's health, education and economic status, as well as critical child indicators such as health and nutrition.

"While the United States has moved up in the rankings, ahead of last year's 31st place, we still fall below most wealthy nations," Carolyn Miles, president and chief executive officer of Save the Children, said in a statement. "A U.S. woman is more than 7 times as likely to die of a pregnancy-related cause in her lifetime than a woman in Italy or Ireland. When it comes to the number of children enrolled in preschools or the political status of women, the United States places in the bottom 10 countries of the developed world."

Following Niger as the worst place to be a mother were: Afghanistan, Yemen, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Eritrea, Chad, Sudan and South Sudan.