VOA标准英语2012--Mom's Flu Vaccination Boosts Baby Birth Weight

Mom's Flu Vaccination¹ Boosts Baby Birth Weight

Pregnant women who get vaccinated² against influenza³ are less likely to have low birth weight babies, according to a study conducted in Bangladesh.
In this study, 340 pregnant women were randomly⁴ assigned to get either a flu vaccination or another vaccine⁵.
If the period after vaccination did not include the flu season, the newborn babies weighed about the same, regardless of which vaccines⁶ their mothers received.
But study author Mark Steinhoff of the Cincinnati, Ohio, Children's Hospital says that during influenza season, the women who got the flu vaccine came down with the flu less than half as often as the women who got the other vaccine, and their babies were born at a healthier weight.
"If the mother got the vaccine and was exposed to influenza, the babies weighted 200 grams more - 3.1 kilos versus⁷ 2.9 kilos. And that is a substantial increase in birth weights," says Steinhoff, noting that it is well established that lower birth weights can have a lifetime impact.
"If there is a decreased birth weight in an otherwise healthy baby, the more it is decreased, the more likely that infant, as an adult, is likely to have conditions such as obesity⁸, diabetes⁹, and heart disease."
Steinhoff says he and his colleagues were the first to identify this link between flu vaccination and birth weight, but four other studies have since come up with the same findings. Still, exactly why a mother sick with flu should have a smaller baby is unclear.
"But in general terms, if the pregnant woman is sick with flu - that's an illness of a week, maybe eight days, 10 days - the baby doesn't grow as well during that time and may end up being born slightly less well-nourished."
Steinhoff stresses that the influenza vaccine is safe for mother and baby, and is one of the few vaccines that a pregnant woman can take that will protect both her and her baby.

1 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

2 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

3 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

4 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

5 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

6 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

7 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

8 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

9 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。