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Adam Daniel - Born 3/28/02 |
Danica Renee - Born 11/13/03 |
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Adam Daniel - Born 3/28/02 |
Danica Renee - Born 11/13/03 |
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U.S. Could use a lecture on treating mothers well
How not to become a mom is important too
As we all try to make mom's life a bit easier today, results of a recent study may surprise you.
Compared with other countries, the life of a mother in the United States is not as easy as you might expect.
Save the Children, a global non-profit organization that advocates for children, ranked 119 countries to see where life is easiest for mothers based on their health, education and political status. It also examined regional trends.
The United States -- the riches and most powerful country in the world -- ranks 10th among the best places to bear and raise children. Just a notch above Cuba and the Czech Republic.
"A lot of it has to do with this country's big gaps in health care and education -- the same things that are affecting women's ability to care for their children in developing countries," said Mary Beth Powers, a reproductive health adviser for Save the Children.
But one of the main reasons the U.S. did not rank higher is its teen pregnancy rate. Nationally, teen pregnancy rates have declined, but the U.S. still has the highest teen birth rate of any industrialized country. And that comes with its own set of challenges. Teenage mothers are more likely to have babies with health problems, more likely to raise their children in poverty, and less likely to complete high school.
Keeping girls interested in school is one way to address the problem. Girls who drop out of school are more likely to get pregnant than those who do not, according to figures from Advocates for Youth, a national non-profit group that has studied the issue.
Comprehensive education about sex and relationships would also make a positive difference.
There's no single or easy fix. But until we deal with teen pregnancy, we'd better get used to not being number one when it comes to making life easier for moms.
From the San Jose Mercury News on Mother's Day, 2004
