【英语语言学习】怀孕

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Twenty years ago, when teen pregnancy¹ was double what it is today, a close friend of mine got pregnant when we were in high school. It's a story I haven't been able to shake. And every time I see a news headline about teen pregnancy, I'm reminded of my friend, Brittany Ohman, and how she and I never talked about her experience. So this time I decided² to call her up.

Hi.

BRITTANY OHMAN: Hello, long time, no see.

MARTIN: Today, Brittany Ohman is a 41-year-old mother of two and a licensed³ social worker and Idaho Falls, Idaho. During our senior year, she and her boyfriend were serious, and they were in the sexual relationship.

OHMAN: I don't believe that I talked to anyone about it. I don't even know if I talked to friends about it. It was kind of a personal choice. And I don't know, you know, who else was doing it at the time. It was just - it was secret, very secret.

MARTIN: When she got pregnant, she didn't tell her friends or her parents. She didn't tell anyone because she didn't realize it herself. And she knows that sounds crazy.

OHMAN: Denial played a very huge role. So now I think, oh, my gosh, Brittany. You know, how could you not know you were pregnant? But I remember the first time I actually believed or felt or thought that I was actually pregnant was when I was in labor⁴.

MARTIN: She delivered that baby by herself in her dormitory bathroom at Boise State University. When the contractions⁶ started, she had no idea what was happening. Brittany Ohman is our Sunday Conversation.

OHMAN: I thought I just had very bad menstrual cramps⁷ - bad menstrual cramps, food poisoning, something. I mean, I was sick. So I had taken a small bottle of - I believe it was Advil that they give you in the campus packs, you know, when you check into your dorms? And I couldn't get comfortable. I mean, I couldn't lay down. I couldn't hold still. I couldn't sit up. So I found myself pacing around the hallways. And the bathroom was situated⁸ in the middle of all the dorm rooms. So every time I hit this corner room, I'd have a contraction⁵. What I now know, now, as being a contraction. And I thought, then, this is really funny. It's kind of timed. You know, what if I'm in labor? What if I'm having a baby? So hours passed...

MARTIN: This is when, Brittany, I have to ask, what did your body look like at this point? I mean, did you look pregnant?

OHMAN: I was - no, I didn't. I looked pretty darn cute (laughter). I had worn wranglers⁹ and cowboy boots. I mean, I think I was probably in better shape than I had been in a long time.

MARTIN: And so there you are. You're having these stomach cramps. And that was the first time that you thought maybe, maybe I am pregnant?

OHMAN: Yes. And by this time other girls were waking up for their classes. And I remember being embarrassed thinking, oh, you know, I don't want people to see me lying in the bathroom. I'll go lay in my bed. And at that time, I felt the contractions were heavy and hard at that point. So I felt down there, and his head was right there. So very calmly, I walked across the hall to the bathroom and not a soul in sight which was very, very strange. And I was in the third stall. And the timeframe is very sketchy¹⁰. I don't remember exactly, but I delivered him in that stall over the toilet. And I remember pain, lots of pain. Where else do you want to know?

MARTIN: So many things (laughter).

OHMAN: I know. It's weird¹¹ to go back and think about it because I do remember it all very well.

MARTIN: Yeah.

OHMAN: And I don't know how I did it.

MARTIN: Yeah.

OHMAN: I really don't know how I did it.

MARTIN: How did you get from holding your baby on the floor of the bathroom in your dormitory, how did you get out of that moment?

OHMAN: OK. So I'm holding him in my arms, and I remember - this is pretty graphic¹² - but I remember ripping the umbilical cord from me, so it was still connected to him. And, you know, very calmly, I had this baby in my arms. And I walked across back to my dorm room, again, not a soul in sight. And I remember wrapping James in my shower towel from that morning. So yeah, it was a little damp. And I remember just holding him, looking at him. You know, we were looking out the window, and his eyes were just bright, bright blue. And then it kind of dawned on me, like, OK, we've got to do something here. And for some miraculous¹³ and amazing reason, I had remembered my mom's telephone number from her office. And she answered, and I said, mom, you know, I just had a baby. And she said, oh, my God, Brittany. You know, she said, I'll be right there. Well, moments later, there was a knock on the door. She didn't just bust¹⁴ in . And she was there with my stepfather who was not my stepfather at the time. But he came in and grabbed James from me. And my mom came and, you know, she was comforting me and trying to help me get my clothes on and lead me out to the car. And I remember thinking, oh, my gosh, you know, I'm going to have blood all over. You know, it wasn't like I just had this baby. It was what are these people going to see, and what are they going to think? So we went to St. Luke's Hospital. And the nurses came and whisked him away. And I was kept in lock down after that. You know, it was kind of like we have to check her mental status, and is she OK?

MARTIN: Do you think you were OK?

OHMAN: Yes.

MARTIN: Yeah.

OHMAN: I have no doubt in my mind. I mean, there was never, never, never any doubt in my mind, Rachel, that I would give the baby away. And I - I mean, I sat and talked to doctors and counselors¹⁵ and nurses and still, interesting enough, I really didn't have the discussion with my parents. It was kind of just in my mind, you know, I knew what I wanted to do. I knew what I had to do. And I flew home with my parents. And life began as a single mother.

MARTIN: Do you remember the conversations with your parents from those early days? I mean, were they asking themselves, how could we, as your parents, not have known?

OHMAN: I thought about it a lot. And my mom has told me since that it was a very hard time for her. And she struggled so much. But we've never talked about it. My dad came into the hospital, and I was standing¹⁶ at the nursery. And I was watching James. And he looked at me, and he said, you know, you're not my little girl anymore. And those words have resonated in my mind, I mean, 22 years. You know, it was just, like, what a disappointment. What have I done? I've let them down. So I mean, that's something I've had to deal with. And I believe I have. But I also believe that things happen for a reason.

MARTIN: How did you make it work? Did you have day care or family who were helping¹⁷ you?

OHMAN: Thinking back, you know, my family helped a lot as well as welfare. But I remember taking him to classes with me, you know? And he'd come to work with me.

MARTIN: Really?

OHMAN: Yeah. He was always right there.

MARTIN: Tell me about your son now. James is in college, right?

OHMAN: Yes. James is 22 years old. He's amazing. He makes me proud every day.

MARTIN: What have you told him about your experience?

OHMAN: We've talked about it quite a few times. We've been back there. I mean, he was probably 10 years old, and I took him to Chaffee Hall where he was born. And I showed him the stall. You know, and I think it was important for him to see that, you know? That it was just he and I. It was me bringing him into this world.

MARTIN: Have you talked with him about sex?

OHMAN: Very openly, yes. We talk about everything, nothing is off-limits. And I've always been that way with both of my boys. I just feel like you can't give your kids enough information. And I felt like, you know, that was why it was so hard for me to share. It was just such an off-limits, a taboo¹⁸ subject. You know, it was just something that wouldn't happen to me or anyone I knew, for that matter. I think as a teenager, I was invincible¹⁹.

MARTIN: When you think now, back to that day, how do you perceive that moment?

OHMAN: The moment that he was born?

MARTIN: Yeah.

OHMAN: Life-changing, but I don't know life any different. I don't know what I'd do without him. I don't know where I'd be right now. And, you know, I always identify myself firstly as a mother because that's what I've always been. So I can't imagine life any differently.

MARTIN: That was my childhood friend, Brittany Ohman, talking about her experience as a teen mom 22 years ago.

1 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。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

6 contractions   

n.收缩( contraction的名词复数 )；缩减；缩略词；（分娩时）子宫收缩

参考例句：

• Contractions are much more common in speech than in writing. 缩略词在口语里比在书写中常见得多。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Muscle contractions are powered by the chemical adenosine triphosphate(ATP ). 肌肉收缩是由化学物质三磷酸腺苷(ATP)提供动力的。 来自辞典例句

7 cramps   

n. 抽筋, 腹部绞痛, 铁箍 adj. 狭窄的, 难解的 v. 使...抽筋, 以铁箍扣紧, 束缚

参考例句：

• If he cramps again let the line cut him off. 要是它再抽筋，就让这钓索把它勒断吧。
• "I have no cramps." he said. “我没抽筋，"他说。

8 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

9 wranglers   

n.争执人( wrangler的名词复数 )；在争吵的人；（尤指放马的）牧人；牛仔

参考例句：

10 sketchy   

adj.写生的，写生风格的，概略的

参考例句：

• The material he supplied is too sketchy.他提供的材料过于简略。
• Details of what actually happened are still sketchy.对于已发生事实的详细情况知道的仍然有限。

11 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

12 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

13 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

14 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

15 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册

16 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

19 invincible   

adj.不可征服的，难以制服的

参考例句：

• This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
• The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致，他们就是不可战胜的。