VOA常速英语2008年-Mothers in Liberia Face High Risks During Pregn

By Kari Barber
Bensonville, Liberia
08 March 2008

As the world marks international women's day, health workers in Liberia are expressing concern about statistics on the deadly risks faced by pregnant women. A recent government study shows that more than 900 out of every 100,000 women die in childbirth.  Kari Barber has a report from Bensonville, Liberia, on what is being done to slow the deadly trend.

A maternal¹ health worker at the Bensonville district clinic shows the room where mothers are monitored following delivery.  Most women in Liberia deliver their babies at home. After delivery, some come to hospitals or clinics like this one to have their babies, and themselves, examined.

Mary Moses walks three-and-a-half hours to this, the nearest clinic, for a prenatal checkup.  But now, only weeks before her due date, she says she will not be able to make the walk anymore.

"I walk, but my back is now giving me a hard time so I cannot walk this distance," she said.

The lack of roads, public transportation, clinics, and a dearth² of professionals trained in obstetrics are all reasons, officials say, that so many women die in childbirth in Liberia.

The health system and infrastructure³ are still devastated⁴ following the civil war that ended in 2003.

Health Minister Walter Gwenigale says the government and aid agencies are focusing their limited resources on recruiting and training midwives, who frequently oversee⁵ pregnancies⁶ when there is no medical professional.

"We need to have about 1,400 [midwives]," he said.  "We have less than 300. So it is a very big problem, and it tells you that when you look at the statistics, it tells you why we need people to do this work.  It is obvious that the women who are delivering are not delivering into safe hands."

Tinapu Toby is one of those midwives who is being trained.

She says she is learning how to handle complications of pregnancy⁷.  She says she wishes she had learned earlier.

Two years ago, she was helping⁸ her daughter give birth.  There were complications, and her daughter died. 

She says she carried her daughter to the hospital, but it was too late.

Toby says the baby also died.

Liberia has one of the worst maternal death rates in the world.  Health workers say while midwife training will likely help, it could take years before maternal health really improves.

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 dearth   

n.缺乏，粮食不足，饥谨

参考例句：

• There is a dearth of good children's plays.目前缺少优秀的儿童剧。
• Many people in that country died because of dearth of food.那个国家有许多人因为缺少粮食而死。

3 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

4 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

5 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

6 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

7 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。

8 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。