VOA慢速英语2012 Health Report - The Global Problem of Preterm Births

 

Health Report - The Global Problem of Preterm Births

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Premature¹ or preterm births are defined as live births before a woman completes thirty-seven weeks of pregnancy². A new study found that about fifteen million babies were born prematurely³ 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.

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.

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.

Problems related to premature birth are the second most common cause of death in children under five, after pneumonia⁴. The study found that these complications of preterm birth result in more than a million deaths around the world every year.

Babies born early are more likely to develop learning disabilities and problems with their eyesight and hearing. They can also suffer cerebral⁵ 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.

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.

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 antibiotics⁶."

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

Only three countries -- Croatia, Ecuador and Estonia -- reported a decrease in their preterm birth rates between nineteen ninety and twenty-ten.

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."

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

You can find a link to the full report, along with videos about the problem of premature births, at www.voanews.cn.

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.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. I'm Faith Lapidus.

1 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。

2 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。

3 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

4 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

5 cerebral   

adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的

参考例句：

• Your left cerebral hemisphere controls the right-hand side of your body.你的左半脑控制身体的右半身。
• He is a precise,methodical,cerebral man who carefully chooses his words.他是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人，措辞谨慎。

6 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。