VOA标准英语2010年-Freetown Hospital Works to Repair Chil

Freetown, Sierra Leone   02 November 2009

Each year, half a million pregnant women in the developing world die of complications during labor¹, and about six million children are stillborn or die within a week of birth. For the next three weeks, we’ll be looking at some of the factors that affect the chances of an African woman having a safe pregnancy² and a healthy child.

This week, VOA’s Chinedu Offor, who recently visited Sierra Leone, tells about some of the problems facing women during birth, including obstetric obstructions³ and the lack of trained attendants and clinics that can handle complicated deliveries.

Death during pregnancy and childbirth is common in Sierra Leone, which has the highest maternal⁴ mortality rate in the world: 2,100 deaths out of 100,000 live births. Most of the deaths occur from complications like uncontrolled bleeding in the mother, or an obstructed⁵ birth that may kill the child.

When such births don't kill, they do cause extensive damage, including fistula, a tear made by the baby in the wall of the birth canal, rectum or bladder through which urine and feces may leak. Fistula and other results of obstructed labor are common in young girls who marry early, before their pelvis is full formed.

Women with fistula are often very young, rural and illiterate⁶. It's not unusuasl for them to be rejected by their husbands, separated from their children and ostracized⁷ by their communities. It is estimated that every year in Sierra Leone there are 5,000 new cases of Vesico-Vaginal Fistula (VVF).

Funding and resources 

Dr. Ibrahim Thorlie is in charge of the fistula repair program at the Princess Christian⁸ Maternity⁹ and Child Health (PCMH) clinic in East End, Freetown. He says the facility is overwhelmed with patients seeking help but the facility is not able to help everyone because of funding problems.

“We have a ward¹⁰ where we used to have them operated on and kept for some time until [they were well enough to go home]," says Thorlie.

"We closed it because [we lost donor¹¹ funding], and now we don’t have the money we need to maintain the program.”

These patients deserve special attention, he says, despite limited resources.

“[These are] women we really need to be taken care of because they are normally neglected even though it is not their fault. We’ve tried a lot, we’ve treated a lot, we’ve operated on over 800 cases here,” he says.

“But we still have others. The ones we have in greater number are those whose conditions have become so difficult that their bladder cannot be repaired.”

Improved training

A citizen of Freetown, Seku Sesay, says the incidents of fistula can also be traced to traditional birth attendants [TBAs] who lack the skills to recognize when pregnant women need prompt medical attention.

In his view, “We need to train more nurses [in Western medicine], build infrastructure¹² for hospitals [and] clinics, bring in more instruments and medicines and then invite educated non-governmental organizations or any outside educated doctors or nurses.”

USAID is providing financial support to an international NGO called Mercy Ships (http://www.mercyships.org/the-experience/our-field-services/sierra-leone) which provides a fleet of hospital ships that help train surgeons and provides surgery for fistula. Four years ago, the group opened the Aberdeen West Africa Fistula Center in Freetown. The hospital can hold up to 44 recovering patients as well as two dozen others preparing for surgery.

Talks are underway to see if the center can be incorporated into the national health system or whether another organization can take over operations.
 

1 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。

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 obstructions   

n.障碍物( obstruction的名词复数 )；阻碍物；阻碍；阻挠

参考例句：

• The absence of obstructions is of course an idealization. 没有障碍物的情况当然是一种理想化的情况。 来自辞典例句
• These obstructions could take some weeks to clear from these canals. 这些障碍物可能要花几周时间才能从运河中清除掉。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 obstructed   

阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• Tall trees obstructed his view of the road. 有大树挡着，他看不到道路。
• The Irish and Bristol Channels were closed or grievously obstructed. 爱尔兰海峡和布里斯托尔海峡或遭受封锁，或受到了严重阻碍。

6 illiterate   

adj.文盲的；无知的；n.文盲

参考例句：

• There are still many illiterate people in our country.在我国还有许多文盲。
• I was an illiterate in the old society,but now I can read.我这个旧社会的文盲，今天也认字了。

7 ostracized   

v.放逐( ostracize的过去式和过去分词 )；流放；摈弃；排斥

参考例句：

• He was ostracized by his colleagues for refusing to support the strike. 他因拒绝支持罢工而受到同事的排斥。
• The family were ostracized by the neighborhood. 邻居们都不理睬那一家人。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 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。

10 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

11 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

12 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。