The Save the Children State of the World's Mothers report (SOWM report) is an annual report by the Save the Children USA, which compiles statistics on the health of mothers and children and uses them to produce rankings of more than 170 countries, showing where mothers fare best and where they face the greatest hardships. The rankings are presented in the Mothers’ Index, which has been produced annually since the year 2000. The 2014 report focuses on saving mothers and children in humanitarian crises. It finds that over half the 800 maternal and 18,000 child deaths every day take place in fragile settings which are at high risk of conflict and are particularly vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters. The 2014 report ranks Finland the number one place to be a mother. Somalia in the Horn of Africa replaced Democratic Republic of the Congo (ranking 178th) as the worst place in the world to be a mother. The United States is down one spot from 2013, ranking 31st. Statistics show that 1 in 27 women from the bottom ranking countries will die from pregnancy-related causes. In addition, 1 in 7 children will die before his or her fifth birthday. The 2015 report is the last edition of the report published on the Save the Children website.

[The lifetime risk of maternal death from pregnancy-related causes from the SOWM2010 report. Each color represents a twofold difference

— risk more than one in: Millennium Development Goal 5 represents a change of two colors (75% reduction) for each nation. | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/SOWM2010///maternal///mortality///map.svg]

2014 SOWM Report: Key Findings

2013 SOWM Report: Key Findings

An original analysis by Save the Children estimates that within the first month of life, more than 1 million babies could be saved each year with universal access to these products, which cost between 13 cents and $6 each and are ready for rapid scale-up now. The products are:

2012 SOWM Report: Key Findings

Vital Statistics

Types of Malnutrition

Stunting - Stunting is when a child is too short for their age. It is caused by poor diet and frequent infections. Generally, stunting occurs before the age of 2, with largely irreversible effects. These effects include: delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function, and poor performance in school. Wasting - Wasting is when a child's weight is too low for their height. Wasting is caused by acute malnutrition. It is a strong predictor of mortality for children under 5 years old. Usually, it is caused by either food shortage or disease. Underweight - When a child is underweight, the child's weight is too low for their age. Being underweight can mean the child is stunted, wasted or both. Weight is an indicator of short-term undernutrition. A deficit in height (i.e. stunting) is difficult to correct but a deficit in weight (i.e. underweight) can be resolved if nutrition and health are improved later in childhood. Micronutrient deficiency - Micronutrient deficiency is when a child is lacking essential vitamins or minerals such as Vitamin A, iron, and zinc. These deficiencies are caused by a long-term lack of nutritious food or they can be caused by infections such as worms.

Nutrition in the First 1000 Days

There are 171 million children (17%) globally who do not have the opportunity to reach their full potential. This is due to not only the physical, but the mental effects of poor nutrition in the earliest months of life.

Children's Wellbeing of the Mother's Index

Out of 171 countries, Iceland is first and Somalia is last.

"Lifesaving Six"

More than half of the world's children do not have access to the "Lifesaving Six": iron folate, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, vitamin A, zinc, and hygiene. Vitamin A Zinc Hygiene Breastfeeding

2012 Mothers' Index

Norway Niger

2011 Mothers' Index

Norway Afghanistan

2010 SOWM Report: Key Findings

2010 Mothers' Index

Norway Afghanistan

Press coverage

The reports have been widely covered in the world press, with attention for local strengths and weaknesses. For example, in 2010 USA Today focused on the low ranking of the U.S. (28th place, below Estonia, Latvia, and Croatia) due to high rates of maternal and infant mortality, low preschool enrollment, and a particularly weak maternal leave benefit. It quoted the report: ABC News interviewed physicians and nonprofit leaders who questioned whether global comparisons could be made reliably, due to possible differences in the definition of ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth, and abortion statistics. Relevant factors may include lack of health insurance, illegal immigration by women with poor prenatal care, and maternal obesity statistics. According to Michael Katz, a senior vice president at the March of Dimes Foundation, "The major question I would ask is, 'Why do African American populations have worse results than the white population?'" [[Image:SOWM2010 child mortalitymap.svg|thumb|Infant mortality rates before age 5. Map colors mark rates per 1000 of at least: [[Pravda]].ru and Sify picked up an IANS/EFE report focusing on Cuba's rating as the best place to be a mother in the developing world. The Herald Sun boasted Australia's second-best placement for mothers, quoting a happy mother about hospital, maternal and child health support, and 12-month workplace maternal leave. However, the Adelaide Advertiser focused on Australia's lower [28th] ranking on the Children's Index, due in part to a child mortality rate three times higher for aboriginal infants. It quoted Save The Children's Annie Pettitt: An editorial in the Philippine Daily Inquirer discussed explanations for the Philippine's 48th-place ranking in the second tier. The column attributed much of the problem to a "brain drain", though it described as "much too high" the SOWM report's figure that 85% of Filipino nurses leave to pursue better pay and standards of living overseas. It questioned standards at "diploma mills" and called for incentives to bring health professionals into poor communities, while criticizing the chilling effects of a "raid on a training session of health-care workers" as subversives in Morong, Rizal. The Philippines local chapter of Save the Children produced a State of Filipino Mothers report in 2008 with rankings by province. The Times of India lamented India's 73rd of 77th place in the second tier, describing a critical shortage of 74,000 accredited social health activists and 21,066 auxiliary nurse midwives below governmental norms and that thousands of women were dying because they could not access the most basic healthcare facilities or that, if they were available, they were low quality. Though data for some countries are not known with much certainty, the SOWM 2010 report had many findings in common with a recent study published in The Lancet, which found that 23 of 181 countries are on track to achieve Millennium Development Goal 5 of a 75% reduction in maternal mortality rate between 1990 and 2015.

Activism

The 2010 report was released by Save the Children in Canada on May 4, 10:00 a.m., as a part of an action directed toward members of Parliament in support of an announcement by Prime Minister Stephen Harper that child and maternal health would be the top priority at the 36th G8 summit in Huntsville, Ontario in June. As described in the press release:

2014 rankings

The list is incomplete and only includes the top 35 countries. Notes

Additional maps (statistics pertaining to females)