U.S. ranks 26th in quality of life for mothers & children

Sad. Because we can and should do better.

Save the Children's Eighth Annual Mothers’ Index has been released, ranking the living conditions and wellbeing of mothers and their children in 140 countries around the world (41 developed nations and 99 developing nations).

The rankings are determined by common markers of maternal and child health and wellbeing, including maternal and infant mortality mortality, healthcare access, births attended by skilled health personnel, child weight, access to clean water, political status, economic status, and educational opportunity.

The top 10 best places for mothers and children are (in order from first to 10th): Sweden, Iceland, Norway, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Spain and Germany. The worst ranking nations at the bottom of the list include Djibouti, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Yemen, Sierra Leone and Niger.

The United States falls somewhere between the best and the worst, at number 26. A bit pitiful, considering we're the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth. All the more reason to do something NOW about a complete overhaul of our broken privatized health insurance "system."

To view and download the 2007 Mothers' Index, click here.  

Thomas the Toxic Tank Engine

In response to last week’s warning from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), advising consumers to immediately stop using Thomas the Tank Engine toys recalled due to toxic paint, the grassroots advocacy organization MomsRising is mobilizing parents and grandparents to say "Enough!"

Not surprisingly, moms don't like finding out that their children have been unknowingly exposed toxic Thomas toys at home, at preschool, at childcare for months - maybe years? - before this discovery was made and the recall issued. (And for the record, is there a kid anywhere in America who has NOT been in contact with the hottest toy on the market today??) Folks signing the MomsRising petition are simply urging members of Congress and CPSC make testing of children’s products for toxic chemicals more of a priority.

To sign the petition, click here.

For the CPSC’s current recall notice of the toxic Thomas toys, click here.

Celebrity politics could make the difference for The MOTHERS Act

Politico columnist Helena Andrews has posted a piece about leveraging celebrity visibility in the service of politics - a topic that particularly interests me as I continue to marvel at the good things accomplished by actress Brooke Shields and former New Jersey first lady Mary Jo Codey on behalf of women's and children's health. Both of these high-profilers have given a great deal of their time - not to mention their good names - to work for legislation and programs at the state and federal levels that will address postpartum depression (PPD) as the health crisis it is.

It's a long time coming - and Shields and Codey turning out recently to support The MOTHERS Act (and companion Melanie Blocker-Stokes Act) on the Hill drew more public attention to the issue than has been achieved in several years of earnest grassroots lobbying by activist mothers and NGOs.

If passed, The MOTHERS Act would provide education and screening on PPD that can lead to early identification and treatment. The bill includes two grants to help healthcare providers educate, identify, and treat perinatal mood disorders: Grants to states, to be allocated to materials and programs for local healthcare providers who work directly with women, and grants to states and local governments, public and nonprofit hospitals, and community-based organizations who deliver essential services to women with PPD and their families (including better outpatient support and home-based care, support services, and inpatient care when needed). The bill would also extend research funding to improve treatments, diagnostic tools and educaitonal materials for providers. The MOTHERS Act incorporates and is a companion bill to Congressman Rush's House bill, the Melanie Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act, which would expend and intensify NIH's research on PPD and related conditions.Postpartum Support International (PSI) - for whom I volunteer in Washington, DC - continues to be the leader in policy advocacy, working to push the MOTHERS Act through Congress and to educate all Americans about this problem - THE most common complication of childbirth, affecting up to 20 percent of new mothers.

Trying - again - to get the "Back-Over Bill" passed

Since the year 2000, approximately 1,150 US children have been killed in non-crash, non-traffic vehicle fatalities – such as back-over accidents, power window strangulations, and children left in cars who become hypothermic or overheated. Toddlers seem to be most at risk, with the average age of victims at age 12 to 23 months. But these numbers are just rough estimates, because our federal government has no system for collecting data on these types of child deaths.

Kudos to Sen. Hillary Clinton [D-NY] and Rep. Jan Schakowsky [D-IL] for re-introducing federal legislation now in committee [S 694, HR 1216] that has earned a strong endorsement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The Cameron Gulbransen Kids & Cars Safety Act of 2007 would 1.) Direct the feds to collect information on non-crash, non-traffic vehicle fatalitis among kids, so we can better understand the scope of the problem and which changes are the most urgent, and 2.) Require auto-makers selling vehicles in the US to install new safety devices in all vehicles, including back-over warning systems, power window stops, and brake shift locks.

This bill did not pass when it was first introduced in 2003 - nor again in 2005.

Cost per average American household to implement the changes?
$45.61.

If you need even more inspiration to contact your members of Congress and ask them to support this legislation, just read Cameron Gulbransen's heartbreaking story. And this grandmother's gut-wrencher.

Automakers need a fire lit under their corporate behinds. They need to be held accountable for improving the safety of their products with readily-available, relatively cheap technologies. I'd love to think they'd do it on their own, without the government getting involved. But they haven't taken the initiative. And holding your breath gets old, when you know kids' lives are on the line.