VOA慢速英语2015 太多柬埔寨妇女死于分娩

AS IT IS 2015-04-10 Too Many Cambodian Women Dying During Childbirth 太多柬埔寨妇女死于分娩

Cambodia has one of the highest maternal¹ mortality rates in Southeast Asia. The number of women dying during pregnancy² or childbirth has dropped in recent years. But it is still far short of the United Nations’ Millennium³ Development Goals. The Cambodian government accepted those goals as part of its effort to help pregnant women.

Years ago, UN member nations and international agencies agreed on a plan of action in eight areas, including maternal health. They set the end of 2015 as a target date for reaching the goals. 

More than 1,000 Cambodian women die each year during pregnancy or childbirth. That is down almost 50 percent compared to the number 15 years ago. However, it still is short of the Millennium Development Goals.                 

In Cambodia, the maternal mortality rate is 170 deaths for every 100,000 live births. At first, the government set a goal of 140 for every 100,000, but its target was later amended⁴. The new target is 250 deaths for 100,000 live births, explained Tung Raththavy. She directs the Ministry⁵ of Health’s National Maternal and Child Health Center. She said that is what the UN goals require -- to reduce to two-thirds of the deaths in 1990. Twenty-five years ago, Tung Raththavy explained, Cambodia had 900 deaths for 100,000 live births.

The UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, says many Cambodian mothers die during childbirth because they lack medical care, mainly in emergencies. There is a lack of trained medical workers across the country. In a recent report, UNICEF said that “even when mothers can access healthcare, overall quality of care is deficient⁶.” It said that makes for more challenges women face in overcoming possible health problems, both during and after childbirth.

Ke Sovannaroth is head of the Cambodian National Assembly’s committee on health and women’s affairs. She said the government needs to do more to help women during pregnancy and childbirth. The mortality rate for Cambodian women is higher than Thailand’s rate of 48 or Vietnam’s rate of 59. Only Laos received a lower rating -- with 470 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Cambodia has increased the number of skilled medical workers assisting in childbirth. Tung Raththavy noted⁷ that the country also has doubled the number of health centers over the past 10 years.

Tung Raththavy said Cambodian officials have plans to expand health care in the future, “to bring services closer to the people, especially women and children.” She said that the country needs skilled health care workers, including midwives. “We still need more skilled midwives to do this work in these places, where we are still lacking,” she said. “We won’t stop. We have been working a lot to increase resources, especially skilled birth attendants.”

Another area of improvement is a reduction in patients with anemia⁸ and iron deficiency. Tung Raththavy said that her country has reduced the level of severe anemia to lower than one percent. “We have been working hard on this,” she added.

The government says that during pregnancy, poor women do not have to pay for health care services. But Ke Sovannaroth said she has received reports that pregnant women still have to pay for those services. “We have found that women died from childbirth due to the neglect of their doctors,” she said. “But we do not see the government punish those who have done wrong.”

Health officials have reported more success with expectant mothers at the national level. But women who live far from major cities still have higher maternal mortality rates than the national average.

The Cambodian Millennium Development Goals Report 2014 says only 75 percent of women giving birth in remote provinces had help from trained health workers in 2012.

Words in This Story

maternal mortality – n. the death of a woman while pregnant, giving birth or just after pregnancy

deficient – adj. not having enough of something that is important

challenge – n. a difficult task or problem, something hard to do

midwives- n. a person, usually a woman, who is trained to help women while they are giving birth

anemia – n. a medical condition in which a person has fewer red blood cells than normal (anemia makes a person feel very weak and tired)

1 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

2 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。

3 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

4 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 deficient   

adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的

参考例句：

• The crops are suffering from deficient rain.庄稼因雨量不足而遭受损害。
• I always have been deficient in selfconfidence and decision.我向来缺乏自信和果断。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 anemia   

n.贫血，贫血症

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。
• I was put on iron tablets for my anemia.我曾因贫血吃补铁药片。