Healthcare makes Denmark haven for mothers

Denmark was ranked the fourth best country to be a mother in Save the Children's annual Mothers' Index last year. But, what does it take to be that?

“Because you have little risks as you give birth to a baby,” says Agnete Nørrelund-Madsen, a mother-of-two, aged four and two.

“We have an excellent healthcare system where skilled midwives and obstetricians are there. Everybody is provided quality care through taxed money, not from your pocket,” she told this correspondent at Bella Centre in Copenhagen where a four-day 4th Global Conference of Women Deliver began yesterday.

The conference brought together some 6,000 participants -- politicians, government officials, United Nations delegates, academics, NGOs and media -- from across the world to discuss and find solutions to health challenges faced by women.

Madsen, who works for non-profit organisation Maternity Foundation, said a mother gets eight months of paid leave in Denmark, two before the birth and six afterwards, while a father 14 days of paternal leave after the delivery.

“This makes the parents keep their child in their close touch and care. A mother too can have the full six-month period to exclusively breastfeed her child,” she said.

Known for its strong management of ecosystems and governance, Denmark maintains a strong taxation system ranging from 40 to 50 percent and provides free education and healthcare, something that makes it and other Scandinavian countries welfare states.

Madsen said on returning to work, mothers can take a leave with low pay in the child's first year. “If children below eight years are sick, the mother can take two days of leave with pay a year for per kid,” she said.

Lillian Bondo, president of the Danish Association of Midwives, said the country has adequate number of daycare centres with professional caregivers, allowing mothers to participate in the job market.

She said some 70 percent of women in Denmark work outside homes, almost double that of Bangladesh where 36 percent of women are involved in the formal job market.

With the advent of industrialisation, the Danish authorities encouraged women to work outside, Bondo said.

Women unions, since then, were formed to demand facilities for maternity leave and childcare, eventually leading to several laws protecting the rights of mothers, she said.

Paternal leaves later were also allowed to avoid discrimination in recruitment of female workers, but it still remains to some extent, said Bondo.

Despite that, motherhood and childhood in Denmark is pleasing, she told this correspondent on the sidelines of a midwifery symposium.

Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen said gender equality has been one of the top priorities that made the country much different from most countries.

“When women and men have equal opportunities, it truly benefits the society – in economic, political or social aspects,” he told a press conference yesterday.

As the Sustainable Development Goals aim to leave none behind, Jensen said it is high time that the world looks at the large number of women and girls who are still being overlooked.

“Everybody wins when you invest in women and girls,” said Katja Iversen, CEO of New York-based global advocacy organisation Women Deliver which is organising the conference.