VOA慢速英语:The Global Problem of Preterm Births

Premature or preterm births are defined as live births before a woman completes thirty-seven weeks of pregnancy. A new study found that about fifteen million babies were born prematurely 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.
早产定义是女性达到37周孕期前活产婴儿。一项新的研究发现，2010年，世界各地约有1500万婴儿早产。该研究开启了这方面的先河，它还表明，贫穷与富裕国家皆存在该问题。

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.
研究人员收集了来自83个国家的信息。这些研究人员来自非政府组织救助儿童会。他们发现，超过十分之一的婴儿出生过早。

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.
该研究小组发现，包括美国和巴西在内的15个国家的早产数量占了三分之二。60%的早产发生在南亚和撒哈拉以南非洲地区。

Problems related to premature birth are the second most common cause of death in children under five, after pneumonia. The study found that these complications of preterm birth result in more than a million deaths around the world every year.
和早产相关的一些问题是5岁以下儿童死亡的第二常见原因，仅次于肺炎。研究发现，世界各地每年有超过一百万死亡是早产并发症导致的结果。

Babies born early are more likely to develop learning disabilities and problems with their eyesight and hearing. They can also suffer cerebral 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.
早产婴儿更容易患上学习障碍及视听问题。他们也可能患上脑瘫，一种神经系统疾病，和终生肺部疾病。如果婴儿少于32周出生，新生儿死亡的风险也会急剧增加。

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.
但80%的早产儿出生于32到37周之间。南非救助儿童会的Joy Lawn率领的这个团队给世界卫生组织撰写了这份报告。她说，通过适当的护理和关爱，这些新生儿一个良好的生存机会。

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 antibiotics."
JOY LAWN：“给予一些基本护理，他们就可以生存下来。因此，需要母乳喂养和保暖。他们感染的风险要高得多，所以要用抗生素治疗。”

She says only five percent of preterm babies were born at twenty-eight weeks or less. Those that survived birth required intensive hospital care.
她说，只有5%的早产儿出生少于或等于28周。那些幸存的早产儿需要医院特别护理。

Only three countries -- Croatia, Ecuador and Estonia -- reported a decrease in their preterm birth rates between nineteen ninety and twenty-ten. 
在1990到2010年期间，只有克罗地亚、厄瓜多尔、爱沙尼亚这三个国家的早产率有所下降。

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."
JOY LAWN：“我们无法给出解决方案，并称这是问题的成因。正如我们也没法指出造成美国早产率非常高的原因一样。”

In the United States, twelve percent of all live births in twenty-ten were preterm.
在美国，2010年12%的活产婴儿是早产。

 You can find a link to the full report, along with videos about the problem of premature births, at www.hxen.net .
你可以在www.hxen.net网站上找到这份完整报告的链接，以及和早产问题相关的视频。

 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.
这份研究似乎引起了Mary Ellen Avery的兴趣。她是一名医学研究人员，她做出了帮助挽救许多早产儿生命的发现。下周，我们将了解Avery医生和她五十多年前的发现。