TOEFL---IBT閱讀材料：Baby's Bacteria Related to Birth Method

相比過去，現代的婦女生孩子有了多一種選擇，有的人更支持順產，有的人則選擇剖腹產。然而大多數人都不太了解不同的方式生孩子會對孩子自身有何影響，近期科學家的研究成果給我們提供了答案。


Each of us harbors a unique collection of bacteria, on our outsides and our insides. Now, scientists are finding that the bacteria you get at birth may depend on how you got here. Because babies born vaginally have a different set of microbes than those that arrive by Caesarean-section. The work appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

我們每個人身上都有著一套獨特的細菌群落，不管在體外還是體內。如今，科學家們發現你出生時攜帶的細菌有可能取決於你是如何降臨人世的。因為，陰道分娩嬰兒和剖腹產嬰兒有著完全不同的微生物。這一研究成果發表在美國《國家科學院院刊》上。

The uterus is a sterile environment. So, in the womb, babies don't have any bacteria to call their own. It's only once they enter the world that they begin to collect the microbes that will colonize their bodies and help shape their immunity. But where do these bugs come from?

子宮是個無菌的環境。因此，嬰兒在子宮內還沒有任何屬於自己的細菌。只有當他們出生後才開始攜帶微生物，這些微生物在嬰兒身上寄生繁衍​​，幫助他們塑造免疫系統。

Scientists sampled the bacterial flora from nine newborns and their mothers. And they found that babies who passed through the birth canal harbored bacteria that matched their moms' vaginal microbiota. Whereas babies delivered by C-section had m​​icrobes typically found on the skin.

科學家們對9名新生兒和他們的母親進行了菌落取樣。他們發現，產道分娩的嬰兒所攜帶的細菌與他們的母親陰道裡的微生物相配。而剖腹產嬰兒所攜帶的細菌是常見於皮膚上的細菌。

The scientists say the results could help explain why babies that arrive by C-section are more susceptible to certain infections. Vaginal microbes might be quicker than skin bugs at snagging all the best bodily real estate, a land grab that could keep harmful infections from getting a foot in the door.

科學家們表示，研究結果可能有助於解釋為何剖腹產嬰兒更易受到某些感染。陰道微生物或許比皮膚細菌能更快地搶到人體上的最佳“地盤”，這位“地產大亨”能將有害感染一腳踢開，不給它們可趁之機。