用母乳喂养婴儿

Babies were Born to be Breastfed

用母乳喂养婴儿

 

For feeding babies, health experts agree that nothing is better than breast milk. It contains anti-bodies that reduce rates of childhood illnesses. Breastfeeding also protects mothers from certain ovarian and breast cancers. While more American women are nursing their babies now than anytime in the last 50 years, the United States still has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the developed world. A national awareness¹ campaign has been designed to change that.

 

Recent studies show babies who are breastfed are less likely to develop ear infections, respiratory illness and diarrhea. Babies were born to be breastfed!

 

For more than a year, TV, radio and billboards² has been carrying that slogan throughout the country.

 

Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter: The campaign messages are really targeted to women of childbearing age, which ranges from teens all the way through the 30s.

 

Campaign spokeswoman Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter says the message seems to be getting through. A survey conducted last month revealed that -- compared to last year -- more men and women agree that breastfeeding is the best way to feed a baby. And they are more comfortable about seeing a woman breastfeed in public.

 

Dr. Feldman-Winter says in the early 1800's, new mothers who could afford to got a wet nurse -- another woman who'd recently given birth - to breastfeed their baby for them.

 

Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter: There was this tradition of wet nursing that went on and many slaves in fact were mandated³ to become wet nurses for the wealthy aristocrats⁵.

 

In the 20th century, bottle-feeding became popular, especially after World War II, as the growing numbers of working mothers discovered the convenience of baby formula.

 

Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter: It was the popular thing, the thing that wealthy women did. So it was sort of this freedom to not have to breastfeed, and that was a cultural issue that then drove many African American women away from breastfeeding, that that was something that the slaves of the previous generations did, so now they are free to not have to breastfeed, they can actually get formula.

 

Dr. Feldman-Winter says the campaign also encourages immigrants and women of different ethnic⁶ and cultural groups to embrace their own breastfeeding traditions.

 

Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter: We are trying to encourage women to preserve the culture of their native country and continue to breastfeed. But of course everyone wants to aspire⁷ to the Americanism being like Americans and part of that, unfortunately, is to begin to formula-feed their young. So we're really trying to encourage the normative perception that breastfeeding is the American norm, or should be the American norm.

 

The Babies Are Born to be Breastfed campaign has helped encourage what some see as a cultural change.

 

Mudiwah Kadeshe: I think that the campaign is really important in changing the perspective on breastfeeding for the country.

 

Mudiwah Kadeshe is a lactation consultant⁸ to the Washington Hospital Center. She helps new moms learn how to breastfeed.

 

She says more mothers have become aware of the importance of breastfeeding in boosting their babies' immunity⁹, reducing the risk of allergies¹⁰ and providing the best nutrition… and most want to nurse.

 

Mudiwah Kadeshe: We have a great amount of Moms who initiate¹¹ breastfeeding. The challenge becomes maintaining breastfeeding up to the recommended 6 months by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

 

One problem, she says, is the lack of role models. Many new moms today don't have mothers, sisters or other relatives who nursed their babies, and that makes it harder for these young mothers to start.

 

Mudiwah Kadeshe: Breastfeeding is something that they need help, support and training with. It is a very intimate process, but the people who are most intimate in their life may not be able to teach them. So, it becomes incumbent¹² on the medical profession, the health care professionals, to support breastfeeding. This is something that's occurring, but not perhaps as fast or as completely as it needs to be.

 

Nursing advocate Mudiwah Kadeshe says she'd like to see breastfeeding-friendly initiatives in all US hospitals and birthing centers and staff trained in the skills necessary to support breastfeeding.

 

Over the next five years, the National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign hopes to increase the proportion of American mothers who nurse their babies to 75%, and those who breastfeed for at least 6 months to 50%.

 

I’m Faith Lapidus.

 

注释：

breastfeeding [brest5fi:diN] n. 母乳喂养

ovarian [Eu5vZEriEn] adj. 卵巢的

breast cancer 乳腺癌

diarrhea [7daiE5riE] n. 痢疾，腹泻

aristocrat⁴ [5AristEkrAt] n. 贵族

normative [5nC:mEtiv] adj. 标准化的

lactation [lAk5teiF(E)n] n. 哺乳期

immunity [i5mju:niti] n. 免疫性

pediatrics [7pi:di5Atriks] n. [医]小儿科

1 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

2 billboards   

n.广告牌( billboard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Large billboards have disfigured the scenery. 大型告示板已破坏了景色。 来自辞典例句
• Then, put the logo in magazines and on billboards without telling anyone what it means. 接着我们把这个商标刊在杂志和广告看板上，却不跟任何人透漏它的涵意。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号

3 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

4 aristocrat   

n.贵族，有贵族气派的人，上层人物

参考例句：

• He was the quintessential english aristocrat.他是典型的英国贵族。
• He is an aristocrat to the very marrow of his bones.他是一个道道地地的贵族。

5 aristocrats   

n.贵族( aristocrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many aristocrats were killed in the French Revolution. 许多贵族在法国大革命中被处死。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To the Guillotine all aristocrats! 把全部贵族都送上断头台！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

8 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

9 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

10 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

11 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

12 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。