VOA慢速英语2018 母乳是早产儿最理想的食品（在线收听）

Mother's Milk Is Best for Smallest Humans

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

这里是VOA慢速英语健康生活报道。

They are the world’s smallest human beings.

他们是世界上最小的人类。

A premature baby is born too early, before 37 weeks of pregnancy. A micro preemie is born even earlier, spending less than 26 weeks inside the mother. A pregnancy normally lasts about 40 weeks.

早产儿是胎龄在37足周以前过早出生的婴儿。超级早产儿是在更早之前出生的婴儿，这些婴儿在母亲体内的时间不足26周。而妊娠期通常会持续40周左右。

Some of the smallest premature babies weigh less than 1,500 grams. And these micro preemies need every gram of weight they have.

一些最小的早产儿体重不到1500克。因此，超级早产儿的每一克体重都很重要。

When Vanessa Ohakam gave birth to her son, she was only 24 weeks pregnant and she was frightened. Her newborn son, J.C., weighed just a little more than 736 grams.

当瓦妮莎·奥哈卡姆生下儿子时，她怀孕仅24周，她非常害怕。她刚出生的儿子J.C.的体重只略多于736克。

"I couldn't even change his diaper. I was so nervous and anxious. He just looked so frail. But the nurses were very supportive and encouraging."

“我甚至没法给他换尿布。我当时又紧张又焦虑。他看上去太脆弱了。但是护士们给了我很多支持和鼓励。”

J.C.’s low birth weight placed him among the very smallest of premature babies. Doctors say he needed special medical attention 24 hours a day in a hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, called NICU for short.

J.C.出生时体重过轻，这使他进入最小的早产儿之列。医生表示，他需要在医院的新生婴儿重症监护室（简称NICU）接受24小时的特殊医疗看护。

But J.C. was lucky. He was a patient at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. A team of specialists there has come up with a nutrition plan to give micro preemies the best chance to live and grow strong.

不过J.C.很幸运。他在华盛顿特区的美国国家儿童医疗中心接受了治疗。该医院的专家团队设计出了一套营养方案，为超级早产儿提供生存和茁壮成长的最佳机会。

The newborn was also part of a nutritional study of micro preemies. The hospital's NICU had a team of specialists from different health care fields. It included doctors specializing in neonatal care, nutritionists and breastfeeding specialists.

这名新生儿还被纳入了超级早产儿的营养研究。这家医院的新生婴儿重症监护室有一个由不同医疗领域的专家组成的团队。该团队包括新生儿护理专家、营养学家和母乳喂养专家。

Their goal was to increase the weight of pre-term babies and improve their chances of survival.

他们的目标是增加早产儿的体重，并提高他们的生存机会。

Because they are born so soon, premature babies can have many developmental issues and health problems. Micro preemies can have even more. Their organs are not fully developed. And they are not able to breastfeed. So helping them to eat and gain weight is most important.

由于出生过早，早产儿可能会出现各种发展问题和健康问题。超级早产儿甚至会出现更多问题。他们的器官还未完全发育。这些婴儿不能哺乳。因此，最重要的是要帮助他们吃奶和增加体重。

The team looked at what and when the babies ate.

这一专家团队会关注早产儿的饮食和吃饭时间。

Caitlin Forsythe is the lead nurse who watched over the premature babies in the study. She said the best thing for them is to have mother’s milk.

凯特琳·福希思是护士长，她负责照顾参与研究的早产儿。她说，母乳是对这些早产儿最有益的食物。

"That is what's best for the premature babies. They tolerate it better, it has great antibodies..."

“母乳是最适合早产儿的食物。因为他们对母乳的接受度更高，而且母乳还含有很多抗体……”

She said one goal of the study was to standardize the feeding process for the micro preemies. Whenever possible, Forsythe said, the babies were fed mother's milk, but not just breast milk. They were given enriched, donated breast milk since not all the mothers could provide their own. The micro preemies were also given enriched milk and formula.

她说，这项研究的其中一个目标是规范超级早产儿的哺乳程序。福希思表示，只要有可能，他们就会给这些婴儿喂母乳，但是不仅仅是母乳。他们还会给这些婴儿喂捐赠的强化母乳，因为并不是所有母亲都能分泌母乳。超级早产儿还要喝强化牛乳和配方奶粉。

Forsythe told VOA that she is pleased with the results.

福希思对VOA表示，她对结果感到满意。

“We have been able to put protocols in place so that there's a standardization of care. We've also increased the amount of mother's own milk we've been providing for the babies, which is great."

“我们成功地实施了医疗方案，由此得以规范化护理方式。我们还增加了母亲的母乳分泌量，而且我们一直用母乳喂养这些早产儿，这非常棒。”

Also on the team was a breastfeeding expert. Judy Campbell helps new mothers feed their babies, should they run into trouble. She knows the value of breast milk.

该团队有一名母乳喂养专家。朱迪·坎贝尔在新妈妈们遇到问题时，帮助她们喂养宝宝。她了解母乳的价值。

"We know that mother's milk has growth factors in it, can't be replaced with any other substance."

“我们知道，母乳中含有生长因子，其他任何物质都不能代替。”

The health care administrator who led the team is Michelande Ridoré. She notes that micro preemies have little body fat and have no energy to waste. So, she explains, the team kept the babies in incubators, which provides a controlled environment. This keeps them warm and helps them to sleep better. As a result, they are less likely to move around and burn calories.

米歇兰德·里多雷是领导这个团队的卫生保健系统管理员。她指出，超级早产儿的体脂含量很低，因此没有可以浪费的能量。她解释说，该团队把这些婴儿放在能提供可控环境的保温箱中。这使婴儿可以保持温暖，并帮助他们睡得更好。这样一来，这些早产儿就不太可能乱动，也不会消耗卡路里。

Ridoré says there was a big improvement in the ability of the babies to grow and gain much-needed weight.

里多雷表示，这些婴儿生长并增加所需体重的能力有了很大改进。

"Preemies, in particular, have poor development. We were able to improve their weight by 30 percent."

“尤其是，早产儿发育不良。而我们能将他们的体重增加30%。”

The team has not yet published a report on the study.

目前该团队还未发表这项研究的报告。

However, Ridoré presented the findings at the Virginia Neonatal Nutrition Association conference in September 2018.

不过，里多雷在2018年9月举行的弗吉尼亚新生儿营养协会会议上介绍了这一研究成果。

I’m Anna Matteo.

Words in This Story

neonatal – adj. of, relating to, or affecting the newborn and especially the human infant during the first month after birth

anxious – adj. afraid or nervous especially about what may happen

frail – adj. physically weak

encouraging – adj. giving hope or promise

incubator – n. medical : a piece of equipment in which very weak or sick babies are placed for special care and protection after their birth

tolerate – v. to endure or resist the action of (something, such as a drug or food) without serious side effects or discomfort

growth factor – n. a substance (as a vitamin B12 or an interleukin) that promotes growth and especially cellular growth

standardize – v. to change (things) so that they are similar and consistent and agree with rules about what is proper and acceptable

formula – n. a milk mixture or substitute for feeding an infant

protocol – n. a system of rules that explain the correct conduct and procedures to be followed in formal situations