导读:母乳银行的原则很简单：母亲们捐赠经过检测的母乳，经过巴氏杀菌，然后发放给有需要的婴儿。
Patrick, a premature baby weighing a minuscule 1.2 kilograms, was "saved" by a breast milk bank in South Africa, where child mortality is high despite being the continent’s most developed economy.
Patrick，南非的一个早产儿，体重仅有1.2公斤，被一个母乳银行挽救了生命。尽管南非是非洲大陆最发达的国家，这里的儿童死亡率却非常高。
"It was a question of life and death because of the fact he could not go on formula," said his 39-year-old mother Annerleigh Bartlett.
他的39岁的母亲annerleigh Bartlett说，“因为他不能食用配方奶粉，这真成了一个生死攸关的问题。”
"There was no way. He was too little."
“没办法，他太小了。”
Bartlett, from Cape Town, wasn’t producing her own milk yet, and baby formula can damage premature babies’ intestines.
生活在南非开普敦的Bartlett不能分泌母乳，而婴儿配方奶粉又会损伤早产儿的肠胃。
So, for the first two weeks of his life, Patrick relied for his survival on breast milk donated by anonymous women.
因此，前两个星期，Patrick完全依赖匿名女性捐赠给母乳银行的母乳生存。
The principle of milk banks is simple: mothers donate milk, which is tested, pasteurized, and then delivered to babies in need.
母乳银行的原则很简单：母亲们捐赠经过检测的母乳，经过巴氏杀菌，然后发放给有需要的婴儿。
"Every drop counts," said a poster at the headquarters of the South African Breastmilk Reserve (SABR), a network of milk banks which supply 87 hospitals and will feed over 2,800 children this year.
南非母乳储备中心（SABR）总部的一张海报上写着，“每一滴乳汁都是有价值的。”今年，一个母乳银行网点供应着87家医院里2800多个嗷嗷待哺的婴儿。
"Human milk banks should be promoted and supported as an effective approach to reduce ... mortality for babies who cannot be breastfed," said South Africa’s Ministry of Health in a recent report.
南非卫生部最近的一份报告中称，“母乳银行是一种有效的方式，降低那些无法母乳喂养的婴儿的死亡率，应予推广和支持。”
"South Africa has a much higher nutrition problem than countries at comparable income levels."
“相比其它同等收入国家，南非的营养不良问题更严重。”
South Africa’s infant mortality rate was 32.8 deaths per 1,000 births in 2013 - far higher than countries such as Egypt, Algeria or Indonesia.
2013年，南非每1000个婴儿死亡数字是32.8.，远远高出像埃及、阿尔及利亚和印度尼西亚这样的国家。
Low breastfeeding rates
低母乳喂养率
Children who are exclusively breastfed are 14 times more likely to survive their first six months of life than formula-fed children, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF.
据联合国儿童基金会（UNICEF）称，纯母乳喂养婴儿在前六个月的存活率是奶粉喂养婴儿的14倍。
But South Africa has very low breastfeeding rates at just 7.4 percent, partly as a result of prevalent poverty and effective marketing by baby formula companies.
但是南非母乳喂养率非常低，仅有7.4%，部分原因是人们比较贫穷，以及婴儿配方奶粉公司的成功营销。
Soon after having their babies, many poor mothers need to get working again.
在分娩后不久，很多贫穷家庭的母亲们就得马上恢复工作。
"Many of these moms are not employed in the formal sector. They don’t get maternity benefits," said Chantell Witten, researcher at the North West University Center of Excellence for Nutrition in South Africa.
南非西北大学营养卓越中心研究员Chantell Witten 说，“这些妈妈们大多都没有受雇于正规部门。他们没有生育津贴。”
"It means that moms are not with their baby, so they start formula feed.”
“这意味着婴儿得和母亲分离，开始奶粉喂养。”
"These babies don’t get the right formula because moms can’t afford to feed adequately and appropriately."
“因为他们的母亲无法给予充分、适当的照顾，这些婴儿们没有得到合适的奶粉喂养。”
There is also a pervasive belief in South Africa that formula milk is better for the baby.
在南非还有一个普遍的观念，认为配方奶粉比母乳好。
"A lot of poor people think that rich people formula-feed. They aspire for the best for their children," said Stasha Jordan, SABR’s director, describing some of the marketing for formula as "aggressive."
南非母乳储备中心总监Stasha Jordan将一些奶粉营销方式称为“侵略”，他说，“很多穷人认为有钱人都选择奶粉喂养。他们渴望给自己孩子最好的。”
Until 2011, formula was distributed for free to prevent transmission of HIV from mother to child, another factor leading toward a bias to using formula over milk.
为防止艾滋病毒因母乳喂养而传播给孩子，直到2011年，配方奶粉仍是免费分发的。另一个主要因素是人们对母乳有偏见，因而使用配方奶粉。
But experts say attitudes toward breast milk are changing.
但专家称对人们对母乳的态度正在发生着改变。
Baby formula advertisements have been banned in magazines and billboards since 2012 and South Africa now encourages HIV-positive mothers to breastfeed as long as they are taking antiretrovirals. Still, there is some way to go.
从2012年起，杂志和广告牌已经被禁止刊登婴儿配方奶粉的广告，南非现在还鼓励HIV阳性的母亲母乳喂养，只要坚持服用抗逆转录病毒药物。当然，还有一些路要走。
"First we were very uncomfortable, knowing that it is a fluid from someone else," said Pradesh Mewalala, whose twins Anya and Ariana were born prematurely.
Pradesh Mewalala 说，“刚开始，知道这些母乳是别人身上的液体，我们感觉非常不舒服。”她有一对双胞胎早产儿Anya和Ariana。
Mewalala eventually agreed to use the milk, a decision that saved his daughters.
Mewalala最终同意使用这些母乳，这个决定挽救了她的女儿们。
The milk undergoes strict microbiological screening and donors must take AIDS and Hepatitis B tests.
这些母乳须经过严格的微生物审查，捐献者必须通过艾滋病和乙肝测试。
Patrick is now a vibrant six-month-old baby. Eventually, his mother was able to breastfeed.
Patrick现在已长成了一个6个月大的充满活力的婴儿，他的妈妈也能够分泌母乳了。
It’s now her turn to be a donor at the Milk Matters bank in Cape Town.
所以，现在就轮到他的妈妈当一名开普敦牛奶银行的母乳捐赠志愿者了。
"I needed to pay back the institution that helped me and our child kind of survive," said Bartlett.
Bartlett说，“我需要回报这个制度，它曾帮助过我和我的孩子生存下来。”
"I managed to provide three liters of milk ... to assist with feeding 20 babies for a period of 24 hours."
“我得设法提供三公升母乳…以满足20名婴儿24小时内的喂养。”
来源:Global Times
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