VOA慢速英语2016 世卫组织:母婴最危险时刻是分娩前后（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2016-08-23 The Most Dangerous Time for Mothers and Babies 世卫组织:母婴最危险时刻是分娩前后

The days immediately before and after child birth appear the most dangerous for mothers and babies.

对孕妇和婴儿来说，分娩前后是最危险的时刻。

The World Health Organization, or WHO, estimates that more than 300,000 women die every year during pregnancy or childbirth. Each year, about 2.6 million babies are stillborn and another 2.7 million babies die during the first 28 days of life, it said.

据世界卫生组织统计，每年死于妊娠期或分娩期的女性超过30万人。每年约260万婴儿胎死腹中，270万婴儿在出生后的28天内夭折。

Most of the deaths are taking place in South Asia and in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. Many of the deaths could have been avoided with quality health care, WHO officials said.

这些死亡案例集中于南亚以及非洲撒哈拉以南地区。世界卫生组织官员称，假如良好的医疗服务到位的话，大多数的死亡案例是可以避免的。

Another problem is that nearly all babies who are stillborn and half of all newborn deaths are never documented. Those deaths are not reported to or investigated by government health agencies.

另外，几乎所有死产婴儿及一半新生儿的死亡从未登记过。政府卫生机构没有接到这些死亡报告或者根本没有对此进行调查。

Officials said this means the actual number of stillborn and newborn deaths is probably even higher than the WHO’s own current estimates.

官员表示，这意味着死产和新生儿死亡数量可能远远超过世卫组织统计的数字。

The United Nations agency says the lack of information makes it harder to find solutions.

世界卫生组织表示，统计数据不齐全很难找到相应的解决办法。

Ian Askew is director of Reproductive Health and Research at the WHO. He said it is important for all births and deaths to be counted so health officials can make better decisions on how to prevent future deaths.

伊恩·艾斯丘（Ian Askew）是世界卫生组织生殖卫生和研究司的司长。他表示，只有将所有出生和死亡的数据统计在册，卫生官员才能在预防死亡方面做出更好的决策。

In this way, Askew said, countries could improve the quality of health care and stop “millions of families from enduring the pain of losing their infants or mothers.”

艾斯丘表示，通过提高医疗服务质量，数百万个家庭就能免受丧子之痛或丧母之苦。

The WHO released three reports earlier this month to help health agencies do a better job collecting information.

本月初，世界卫生组织发布了三项报告协助卫生机构更好地收集信息。

Askew told VOA that traditions and beliefs often interfere with the collection of important records about infant deaths.

艾斯丘接受美国之音采访时表示，传统观念和信仰会阻碍收集婴儿的死亡记录。

In many countries, he said, there is a belief, that a stillbirth may not represent a lost life.

他表示，很多国家存在一种信仰，认为胎死腹中并不意味着生命逝去。

Some stillbirths, infant deaths or deaths of mothers result from complications during childbirth, the WHO said. Others may result from health problems with the mother, including diabetes or hypertension.

世界卫生组织表示，部分死产、新生儿死亡或孕产妇死亡是因分娩期间的并发症导致的。有的是因为孕产妇的健康问题引起的，包括糖尿病或高血压。

A poor diet or using drugs can interfere with the growth of a fetus inside the mother, the WHO added.

世界卫生组织表示，不良的饮食习惯或使用药物会影响孕妇体内胎儿的发育。

Words in this Story

stillborn - n. dead at birth

solution - n. something that solves a problem

endure - v. to experience pain and or sadness

complication - n. something that makes something harder to understand, explain, or deal with

diabetes - n. a serious disease in which the body cannot properly control the amount of sugar in your blood because it does not have enough insulin

hypertension - n. high blood pressure