離開
進入《中英對照讀新聞》Female circumcision heightens childbirth risks 女性割禮提高生產危險
◎魏國金
Female circumcision, performed on as many as 3 million girls each year, complicates childbirth later in life and causes higher mortality among their babies, the World Health Organisation said.
世界衛生組織說，每年對多達300萬女孩施行的女性割禮，日後會使生產過程更加複雜困難，並使她們的嬰孩的死亡率提高。
In a new report, the United Nations agency said women who had undergone the practice, also known as female genital mutilation, were up to 70 percent more vulnerable to potentially fatal haemorrhage after delivery than those who had not.
這個聯合國所屬機構在一份新的報告中指出，接受這種割禮（也稱為女性外陰部割除）的女性，在分娩後發生可能致命的大出血的機率，比沒有接受者高出70%之多。
Its study, involving some 28,000 women at obstetric centres in six African countries where the practice is common, said babies born to circumcised women were as much as 55 percent more likely to die during or immediately after childbirth.
這份研究指出，受割禮女子產下的嬰孩，在分娩過程中或分娩後立即夭折的機率提高55%。該研究涵蓋6個普遍實行女性割禮的非洲國家，約2萬8千名在產科中心的產婦。
Up to 20 out of every 1,000 babies born in Africa die as a direct result of their mothers’ circumcision, the WHO said.
世衛組織說，在非洲出生的嬰兒，每1000名就有多達20名因為母親接受過割禮而夭折。
About 100 million women worldwide are estimated to have undergone genital mutilation, which can involve cutting away the clitoris and external genitalia and stitching the vaginal opening in order to reduce women's sexual appetite.
估計全球約有一億婦女經歷外陰部切除，它可能涉及切除陰蒂與外生殖器，並縫合陰道口，以降低女性的性慾。
Girls generally undergo the rite before the age of 10,often without anaesthesia and in unsanitary conditions where they are exposed to dangerous infections including HIV.
女孩通常在10歲前接受這項儀式，而且經常在沒有麻醉而不衛生的情況下進行，使她們暴露在遭到危險感染的威脅，包括愛滋病毒。
新聞辭典
female circumcision：割除女性外陰部的習俗。circumcision 泛指割禮；割除包皮（外陰部）手術，動詞為circumcise。
haemorrhage：大量失血。post-partum haemorrhage即產後血崩。
HIV：Human Immunodeficiency Virus 的縮寫，亦即愛滋病毒。
