Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Netherlands has the highest rate of home births in the Western world with about one-third of babies born at home. Built into the Dutch system is the kraamzorg, a nurse service where a visiting nurse comes to the house for the first seven to ten days after birth to help take care of mother and child. It is no wonder the Netherlands is one of the top ten countries in the world to be a mother, ranking 9th in the Mother’s Index. Also contributing to the ranking are high scores in health, education (17 average years of schooling for females) and women’s political participation in national government (39%), as well as fully paid maternity leave.