VOA慢速英语:A Birth Procedure Does Little to Prevent Bleeding

Severe bleeding, also called hemorrhage, causes one-third of pregnancy-related deaths in Asia and Africa.
严重出血也被称为hemorrhage，亚洲和非洲与妊娠有关死亡人数中有三分之一与之相关。

The World Health Organization has been recommending several ways to reduce the risk of hemorrhage immediately after birth. These include giving the mother a hormone called oxytocin. It helps the uterus expel the placenta, or afterbirth. Another recommendation to help expel the placenta has been to use what is called controlled-cord traction. In this procedure, the birth attendant gently pulls on the umbilical cord while pushing upwards on the mother's stomach.
世界卫生组织已建议几种方法来减少产后出血的风险。这些措施包括给产妇注射一种名为催产素的荷尔蒙，它可以帮助子宫排出胎盘或胞衣。另一项一直采用的帮助排出胎盘的建议被称为控制线牵引。在此过程中，接生员轻拉脐带，同时在妈妈的肚子上向上推。

Dr. Metin Gulmezoglu of the World Health Organization led a study on the effectiveness of controlled-cord traction. He says it is not easy to perform and, if it is not done correctly, it can harm the mother.
世界卫生组织的Metin Gulmezoglu博士负责一项有关控制线牵引的有效性研究。他说，这不容易执行。如果操作错误，会伤害到母亲。

METIN GULMEZOGLU: "If it’s not applied by people who are skilled in doing it, then it may cause more problems."
METIN GULMEZOGLU：“如果由不熟练的人来实施，那么可能会导致更多问题。”

The study involved more than twenty-three thousand pregnant women who had vaginal births. The births happened in sixteen hospitals and two primary health-care centers in eight countries. These were Argentina, Egypt, India, Kenya, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and Uganda.
该研究涉及了超过2.3万名顺产的孕妇。这些分娩发生在8个国家的16个医院和2个初级卫生保健中心。这些国家是阿根廷，埃及，印度，肯尼亚，菲律宾，南非，泰国和乌干达。

About half of the mothers received a so-called full package of measures including controlled-cord traction. The other women gave birth helped only by gravity and pushing by the mother. Both groups of women received injections of oxytocin immediately after giving birth.
约有一半的妈妈接受了所谓的全包措施，包括控制线牵引。其他女性仅借助重力和母亲推动分娩。两组妇女生完孩子后立即注射催产素。

The study showed that, on average, both groups had about the same amount of blood loss. The study found that controlled-cord traction had very little effect in reducing the risk of serious blood loss -- defined as a liter or more. There was serious blood loss in 1.9 percent of the women who received the procedure, compared to 2.1 percent of those in the simplified group.
研究表明，平均而言两组失血量几乎相同。研究发现控制线牵引在控制严重失血风险上收效甚微。严重失血的定义是失血1升或更多。接受了控制性脐带牵引的女性中严重失血的比例为1.9%，对比措施简化组的女性，严重失血比例为2.1%。

Dr. Gulmezoglu says using oxytocin was much more important than pulling on the umbilical cord to reduce blood loss.
Gulmezoglu博士称，就减少失血而言，使用催产素比拉脐带更为重要。

METIN GULMEZOGLU: "The main factor that helps to reduce blood loss after birth is the oxytocin, the medication that helps the uterus to contract. And the procedure itself, in our study, adds a minute amount."
METIN GULMEZOGLU：“减少分娩后失血的主要因素是帮助子宫收缩的药物催产素。在我们的研究中，过程本身增加了一分钟的失血量。”

Oxytocin is injected, but only into the muscle. This makes it easier to administer for birth attendants with little training. Also, the hormone does not cost very much. But it can lose its effectiveness if stored at high temperatures. The WHO may recommend single-use syringes with sensors to warn of exposure to high temperature.
催产素只是被注射到肌肉中。这使得助产士稍加培训便能更容易掌握。此外，这种激素并不贵。但如果将它存放在高温下，可能会失去效力。世卫组织可能会建议使用带有传感器的一次性注射器对暴露于高温提出警示。

The WHO is expected to changes its guidelines based on the new findings. The study is in the Lancet medical journal. It was funded by the United States Agency for International Development and the United Nations.
基于新发现，世卫组织预计将改变其指引。这项研究发表在“柳叶刀”医学期刊上。它由国际开发署与联合国创建，美国代理。