Canada the 19th best place in the world to be a mom: report

Brendan Chan and mother Alice Zhang at an Ontario Early Years Centres in Willowdale, Dec. 14, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dominic Chan

Canada has moved up a notch this year in Save the Children's 13th State of the World's Mothers report.

Canada is ranked the 19th best place in the world to be a mother, up one spot from last year's ranking.

The report says Canada's improvement is mainly due to an increased percentage of women members of parliament and the inclusion of parental leave along with maternity leave.

The ranking, which compares 165 countries, looks at factors such as mother's health, education and economic status, as well as critical child indicators such as health and nutrition.

Norway ranks number one, and the report says compared to that country, Canada needs to improve in areas of women’s education and economic success and maternity-parental benefits.

Niger is ranked as the worst place in the world to be a mother — replacing Afghanistan for the first time in two years — as it's currently in the grip of a worsening hunger situation which is threatening the lives of a million children.