美国国家公共电台 NPR--Birth workers in Kansas are addressing the state's high rate of infant mortality

Birth workers in Kansas are addressing the state's high rate of infant mortality

Transcript¹

Kansas has one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the U.S., and for Black babies the picture is especially dire². Birth workers are looking for ways to reduce the number of deaths.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Kansas has one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the U.S. And for Black babies, the picture is especially dire. They're over 3 1/2 times more likely to die before their first birthday than white babies. Rose Conlon of member station KMUW and the Kansas News Service reports on what some birth workers are doing to address that.

ROSE CONLON, BYLINE³: Peggy Jones-Foxx knows what it takes to raise a baby.

PEGGY JONES-FOXX: Hardest work I've ever done.

CONLON: In a spare room at the Dellrose United Methodist Church in Wichita, she's teaching young pregnant women about that work.

JONES-FOXX: All right. We're going to go ahead and get started.

CONLON: Today's lesson is about how to stay healthy during pregnancy⁴. Before they go to a doctor's checkup, she tells them to write down their questions ahead of time and insist that they get answers.

JONES-FOXX: Sometimes that can be pretty intimidating⁵ because we're all a little shy when it comes to professionals. So we're going to talk about that. But before we do that, we're going to have a pop quiz.

CONLON: Jones-Foxx is the president of the Wichita Black Nurses Association. A few months ago, researchers at the Center for Research for Infant and Birth Survival asked her to help teach these classes after new data showed Black infant mortality in Kansas surged 58% in 2020. Now, 17 Black babies out of every thousand die before their first birthday in the state, over 3 1/2 times the rate for white babies. There are still big questions about what exactly happened, but the pandemic looms⁶ large. Initial research has linked the COVID-19 virus to pregnancy complications. And experts point to job loss and other sources of stress as potential factors. Sharla Smith, a University of Kansas professor who directs the Kansas Birth Equity⁷ Network, says Black people experienced both at higher rates.

SHARLA SMITH: A lot of this is just contributed to the stress on the Black body.

CONLON: While the leading cause of white and Hispanic infant death is birth defects, for Black babies, it's complications from being born too early and underweight. Smith says premature⁸ births can reflect maternal⁹ health disparities that exist long before pregnancy. She also says research shows doctors are less likely to diagnose Black women with endometriosis or refer them for cardiac treatment and are more likely to ignore their pain.

SMITH: Black women are just not listened to, so when they're seeking care, there's a lot of disparities in access to quality health care within our state.

CONLON: Birth experts say reducing Black infant mortality means taking a wide look at all of the social, environmental and economic factors that contribute to it. That's exactly what Sapphire¹⁰ Garcia-Lies is trying to do with the Kansas Birth Justice Society, a few miles away in north Wichita. She founded the nonprofit in 2020 to reduce deaths among Black, Latino and Native American moms and babies.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOORBELL)

CONLON: Inside the center, there's a community fridge, a meditation¹¹ area and a room stacked floor to ceiling with free diapers, baby clothes and strollers.

SAPPHIRE GARCIA-LIES: This is our lactation clinic. It's called the Milky¹² Way Lactation Lounge.

CONLON: The group is recruiting and training lactation consultants¹³ of color, a first for Wichita. They help the families they serve who are less likely to breastfeed continue to, despite big hurdles¹⁴ like having to go back to work as soon as two weeks after giving birth.

GARCIA-LIES: Because the research tells us that if family exclusively breastfeeds the baby, that they have a higher chance of making it to see their first birthday.

CONLON: Their staff of eight doulas will give pregnancy support to around 75 families this year. Doulas can advocate for patients during doctors visits and make sure they aren't pressured into things like labor¹⁵ induction¹⁶ and C-sections in the delivery room. It's an issue close to Garcia-Lies' heart. Several years ago, she lost her second daughter to miscarriage¹⁷ after, she says, a doctor brushed aside concerns she raised about the pregnancy.

GARCIA-LIES: By the time I went for a second opinion, she had passed away, and I was full term. You know, we were days from her due date.

CONLON: Now she works to make sure fewer Black and brown families have to go through that heartbreak. For NPR News, I'm Rose Conlon in Wichita.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

5 intimidating   

vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词)

参考例句：

• They were accused of intimidating people into voting for them. 他们被控胁迫选民投他们的票。
• This kind of questioning can be very intimidating to children. 这种问话的方式可能让孩子们非常害怕。

6 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

8 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

9 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

10 sapphire   

n.青玉，蓝宝石；adj.天蓝色的

参考例句：

• Now let us consider crystals such as diamond or sapphire.现在让我们考虑象钻石和蓝宝石这样的晶体。
• He left a sapphire ring to her.他留给她一枚蓝宝石戒指。

11 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

12 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

13 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

14 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

15 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

16 induction   

n.感应，感应现象

参考例句：

• His induction as a teacher was a turning point in his life.他就任教师工作是他一生的转折点。
• The magnetic signals are sensed by induction coils.磁信号由感应线圈所检测。

17 miscarriage   

n.失败，未达到预期的结果；流产

参考例句：

• The miscarriage of our plans was a great blow.计划的失败给我们以巨大的打击。
• Women who smoke are more to have a miscarriage.女性吸烟者更容易流产。