美国国家公共电台 NPR As Popularity Of Baby Boxes Grows, Skeptics Say More Testing Is Needed

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

We head to New Jersey¹, where a growing number of babies are sleeping in cardboard boxes. This is an idea borrowed from Finland, where for decades, the government has given expectant moms a package of maternity² items to take home, including a sturdy box that doubles as a crib. Several American states are now giving away these baby boxes, sparking a debate about safety. NPR's Maureen Pao went to New Jersey recently to check out the first of these programs in the U.S.

(SOUNDBITE OF KNOCKING ON DOOR)

MAUREEN PAO, BYLINE³: On a recent afternoon...

MARCIA VIRGIL: It's Miss Marcia.

PAO: Miss Marcia Virgil is meeting Mr. Solomon Murphy for the first time.

VIRGIL: Hey, look at you. He's beautiful.

SOLOMON: (Crying).

MAISHA WATSON: Aw.

PAO: Miss Marcia is a family support worker with the Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative. She's making a house call on Solomon, who just turned a month old, and his mom, 26-year-old Maisha Watson.

Marcia asks a few questions about how baby's doing. Over on the bed, there's a cheerfully decorated box.

VIRGIL: Are you finding the baby box helpful for you?

WATSON: Yes, I love it.

PAO: Maisha wasn't always so enthusiastic. When Miss Marcia first told her about the box, she thought...

WATSON: Why would I want to put my baby in a box? (Laughter). Like, I don't understand.

PAO: Yes, it is a cardboard box. But, Miss Marcia explained, it's actually a good, safe place for a baby to sleep. It comes with a firm mattress⁴ and a snug⁵ sheet, all in line with the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations. They're meant to protect against sleep-related deaths, including sudden infant death syndrome⁶, also known as SIDS. Solomon's slept in it ever since he came home from the hospital.

WATSON: I don't want to just leave him on the bed. And then we don't have room for a crib or a bassinet, so the box is good.

PAO: That's because Maisha, Solomon and Solomon's dad are living in a cramped⁷ motel room outside Atlantic City.

WATSON: You see him? Look at him - he's got his eyes open.

PAO: Maisha's been here a year, after a bad car accident made it hard for her to work and stay in school.

SOLOMON: (Crying).

WATSON: Mommy's sorry - OK.

PAO: The box that my Maisha and Solomon are using is one of about 20,000 that New Jersey has given out since January. The goal is to provide a box for every newborn in the state. To get one, a parent must watch a series of online videos that focus on how to keep babies safe while they sleep.

Organizers say the cute box is just a hook. The real point is education, and the need for education becomes clear soon after Marcia walks into Maisha's room and finds a thick blue blanket in the baby box.

VIRGIL: ...You going to lay him down.

WATSON: Yes.

VIRGIL: Very good. This needs to come out.

WATSON: OK, well, I...

PAO: In New Jersey, sleep is a factor in most sudden unexpected infant deaths - a baby sharing a bed with an adult or being suffocated⁸ by something like that fluffy⁹ blanket. Dr. Kathie McCans chairs the state board that reviews child fatalities¹⁰. The board partnered with the California-based Baby Box Company to provide the boxes and videos. She says teaching parents about known risks - that's the heart of the program.

KATHIE MCCANS: My hope is that we will not have people making the errors of putting a baby in a sleep surface that has blankets and pillows and crib bumpers¹¹, that everyone will know that a baby needs to be put to sleep on their back each and every time.

PAO: Not everyone has jumped on the baby box bandwagon. The American Academy of Pediatrics says there just isn't enough evidence yet to show the boxes play a role in reducing infant mortality. Dr. Thomas Hegyi agrees. He's medical director of the SIDS Center of New Jersey.

THOMAS HEGYI: We're very concerned, as pediatricians, in adopting interventions¹² for babies without thoroughly¹³ testing them because, historically, we've been burned.

PAO: He says that a lot of things that sounded like a good idea at first turned out to be dangerous, like crib bumpers, which can smother¹⁴ babies.

HEGYI: There are so many questions that need to be answered before we can give this product to healthy babies.

PAO: A task force is already working to establish safety standards for baby boxes, but it's unclear when they'll be ready. Dr. McCans agrees that testing is necessary. But she says the boxes' benefits outweigh¹⁵ the potential risks.

MCCANS: How many babies should die while we wait for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to do that testing? The reality is babies die in cribs. They die in bassinets.

VIRGIL: So you'll have a crib soon. No stuffed animal...

PAO: Back at the motel, Miss Marcia is wrapping up her visit with Maisha.

VIRGIL: Never put him in the bed with you.

WATSON: Right.

VIRGIL: For this new mom, the small, portable baby box has bought her some time to figure out a permanent place for her son to sleep. Until then, Maisha lays him gently in the baby box...

WATSON: See, he's sleeping peacefully. As long as he comfortable and safe - that's the main key. As long as he's safe, then it works out good.

PAO: Maureen Pao, NPR News.

1 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

2 maternity   

n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的

参考例句：

• Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
• Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 mattress   

n.床垫，床褥

参考例句：

• The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。
• The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。

5 snug   

adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房

参考例句：

• He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。
• She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。

6 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

7 cramped   

a.狭窄的

参考例句：

• The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
• working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作

8 suffocated   

（使某人）窒息而死( suffocate的过去式和过去分词 )； （将某人）闷死； 让人感觉闷热； 憋气

参考例句：

• Many dogs have suffocated in hot cars. 许多狗在热烘烘的汽车里给闷死了。
• I nearly suffocated when the pipe of my breathing apparatus came adrift. 呼吸器上的管子脱落时，我差点给憋死。

9 fluffy   

adj.有绒毛的，空洞的

参考例句：

• Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
• The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。

10 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 bumpers   

（汽车上的）保险杠，缓冲器( bumper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our bumpers just grazed (ie touched each other) as we passed. 我们错车时保险互相蹭了一下。
• Car stickers can be attached to the bumpers or windows. 汽车贴纸可以贴在防撞杆上或车窗上。

12 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

13 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

14 smother   

vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息

参考例句：

• They tried to smother the flames with a damp blanket.他们试图用一条湿毯子去灭火。
• We tried to smother our laughter.我们强忍住笑。

15 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。