DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Midwives in Training

DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Midwives in Training
By Jill Moss¹

Broadcast: Monday, May 10, 2004

This is Robert Cohen with the VOA Special English Development Report.

Women trained to help with childbirth celebrated² International Day of the Midwife last week. The observance takes place each year on May fifth. It is organized by the International Confederation of Midwives. This group began in Belgium in nineteen-nineteen as the International Midwives Union. Today, it has member organizations in more than fifty countries.

The World Health Organization estimates that more than half a million women each year die during pregnancy³ or childbirth. Blood loss and infection are two of the major causes. Others include diseases like AIDS, malaria⁴ and tuberculosis⁵. But many more women suffer injuries in childbirth. An estimated fifteen-million women each year are damaged so badly that they never fully⁶ recover.

Experts say many deaths could be avoided if more women gave birth with skilled help. An estimated fifty-eight percent of women in developing countries have a trained healthcare worker present during birth.

Africa has the highest death rate for mothers. The British Royal College of Midwives estimates that one woman dies for every sixteen babies that survive birth in Africa. India, Pakistan and Afghanistan also have high rates of maternal⁷ deaths.

The Royal College of Midwives has launched Safe Motherhood projects around the world to expand health services for women. It also raises money on the International Day of the Midwife to provide transportation for midwives to reach those who need them. For example, money is raised for cars for Sierra Leone, bicycles for Kenya and Cambodia, and donkeys for midwives in Lebanon.

 
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An American-based group called the Afghan Relief Organization is launching a program in Afghanistan. It says there are few trained women there to assist with childbirth. The organization hopes to teach women to become midwives. They will learn how to deliver babies in homes, even if there is no electricity or modern medicine. The new midwives will also help educate mothers about family planning, nutrition, childcare and other health issues.

The Afghan Relief Organization says it plans to mainly train women who live outside of Kabul. The Institute for War and Peace Reporting says that in some areas of Afghanistan, more than sixty percent of women die giving birth.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss. This is Robert Cohen.

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

3 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。

4 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

5 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 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。

8 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。