VOA慢速英語:The Global Problem of Preterm Births

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語健康報道。

Premature or preterm births are defined as live births before a woman completes thirty-seven weeks of pregnancy. A new study found that about fifteen million babies were born prematurely around the world in twenty-ten. The study was the first of its kind, and shows that the problem exists in poor countries as well as in wealthy ones.

早產(chǎn)是指女性達到37周孕期前活產(chǎn)嬰兒。一項新的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，2010年，世界各地大約有1500萬嬰兒早產(chǎn)。該研究是這方面的第一項研究，它還表明，貧窮國家同富裕國家一樣存在這一問題。

Researchers gathered information from eighty-four countries. The researchers were from Save the Children, a nongovernmental organization. They found that more than one in ten babies are born too soon.

研究人員收集了來自83個國家的信息。這些研究人員來自非政府組織救助兒童會(Save the Children)。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，超過1/10的嬰兒早產(chǎn)。

The research team found that fifteen countries -- including the United States and Brazil -- had two-thirds of all preterm births. Sixty percent of preterm births happen in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

該研究小組發(fā)現(xiàn)包括美國和巴西在內(nèi)的15個國家占到了早產(chǎn)數(shù)量的2/3。60%的早產(chǎn)發(fā)生在南亞和撒哈拉以南非洲地區(qū)。

Problems related to premature birth are the second most common cause of death in children under five, after pneumonia. The study found that these complications of preterm birth result in more than a million deaths around the world every year.

和早產(chǎn)相關的一些問題是5歲以下兒童死亡的第二大常見原因，僅次于肺炎。研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，每年全球超過1百萬死亡是早產(chǎn)并發(fā)癥導致的。

Babies born early are more likely to develop learning disabilities and problems with their eyesight and hearing. They can also suffer cerebral palsy, a neurological condition, and a lifetime of lung disease. The risk of death in a newborn also increases sharply if babies are born after less than thirty-two weeks of pregnancy.

早產(chǎn)兒更容易發(fā)生學習障礙及視聽問題。他們也可能患上神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)疾病腦癱，以及終生肺部問題。如果嬰兒少于32周出生，新生兒死亡的風險也急劇增加。

But eight out of ten premature babies are born between thirty-two and thirty-seven weeks. Joy Lawn of Save the Children in South Africa led the team that wrote the report for the World Health Organization. She says with the right medical care and loving attention, these newborns have a good chance of survival.

但80%的早產(chǎn)兒出生于32到37周之間。南非救助兒童會的喬伊·羅恩(Joy Lawn)領導了這個研究小組，并給世界衛(wèi)生組織撰寫了這份報告。她表示，通過適當?shù)淖o理和關愛，這些新生兒存活幾率很大。

JOY LAWN: "They would survive with really basic care. So, being breastfed, being kept warm. And they are at much higher risk of infection, so treating with antibiotics."

羅恩：“通過一些基本護理他們就可以存活下來，所以需要母乳喂養(yǎng)和保暖。他們感染的風險要高得多，所以使用抗生素治療。”

She says only five percent of preterm babies were born at twenty-eight weeks or less. Those that survived birth required intensive hospital care.

她表示，只有5%的早產(chǎn)兒出生于28周或更早。這類幸存的早產(chǎn)兒需要醫(yī)院特別護理。

The research team found that only three countries -- Croatia, Ecuador and Estonia -- had a decrease in their preterm birth rates between nineteen ninety and twenty-ten.

研究小組發(fā)現(xiàn)，在1990到2010年期間，只有克羅地亞、厄瓜多爾、愛沙尼亞這三個國家的早產(chǎn)率有所下降。

JOY LAWN: "Really we can't point to one solution and say this is what caused it. Just as we couldn't point to something in the U.S. and say this is what caused the very high rates in the U.S."

羅恩：“我們沒法給出造成(這三個國家)這種情況的一個解釋。正如我們也沒法給出造成美國早產(chǎn)率非常高的某種解釋。”

In the United States, twelve percent of all live births in twenty-ten were preterm.

2010年在美國，12%的活產(chǎn)嬰兒是早產(chǎn)。

You can find a link to the full report, along with videos about the problem of premature births, at 51voa.com.

你可以在51voa.com網(wǎng)站上找到這份完整報告的鏈接，以及和早產(chǎn)問題相關的視頻。

This study would have interested Mary Ellen Avery. She was a medical researcher who made a discovery that helped save the lives of many preemies. Next week, learn about Dr. Avery and her discovery more than fifty years ago.

這份研究似乎引起了瑪麗·埃倫·埃弗里(Mary Ellen Avery)的興趣。她是一名醫(yī)學研究人員，她做出了幫助挽救許多早產(chǎn)兒生命的發(fā)現(xiàn)。下周我們將了解埃弗里博士及她五十多年前的發(fā)現(xiàn)。