应该高度重视孕妇健康

Chris Murray: The number of maternal deaths is actually going down, where previously we have thought it would be constant for the last 30 years.

克里斯．默里：孕产妇死亡人数正在下降，我们原本以为这个数值过去30年不会变。”

You’re listening to Christopher Murray. He’s a Medical Doctor and director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. Dr. Murray is principal author of an April 2010 study showing that, around the world, fewer women are dying in childbirth.

今天节目的嘉宾是华盛顿大学健康指标与评估研究所所长、医学博士克里斯多夫．默里。默里博士是今年4月一项研究报告的主要作者，该报告表明全世界女性分娩死亡人数呈下降之势。

Chris Murray: The good news is that some countries have proven that we can make progress – countries like Egypt, or Bolivia, or China or even India.

克里斯．默里：好消息是，一些国家已成功证明我们可以在这方面取得进步。像埃及、玻利维亚、中国甚至印度这类国家已经取得可喜的进展。

The report, published in the medical journal the Lancet, revealed that the number of women dying in pregnancy and childbirth has dropped by more than 35 percent in the past 30 years. Thirty years ago, there were half a million deaths from childbirth each year. In 2008, there were less – about 343,000 deaths from childbirth.

默里博士的报告刊载于医学杂志《柳叶刀》。其研究结果表明，近30年来孕产妇死亡率下降逾35%。30年前，每年分娩死亡的产妇达50万人。2008年这一人数降至34.3万。

Chris Murray: Three hundred forty thousand deaths from something that is almost entirely preventable is just too many. So we need to have accelerated attention and funding for maternal health programs.

克里斯．默里：34.3万人死于某种完全可以避免的原因，这样的死亡人数实在太多了。必须提高人们对保护孕妇健康的重视度，加强对孕妇保健方案的投资。

Murray said that there are three major factors that are contributing to the decline of the number of women dying in childbirth – lower pregnancy rates in some countries, more education for women, and higher income, which improves a mother and her child’s access to health care.

默里表示，分娩死亡率下降，主要原因有三：一些国家妊娠率下降；女性受教育更多；女性收入提高，母婴卫生保健得到改善。