Saving lives – The Hindu (Feb 23 2018)

Saving lives – The Hindu (Feb 23 2018)

A new country-wise ranking of neonatal mortality rates — the number of babies dying in their first month for every thousand live births — gives India cause for both hope and shame. For further reading, visit “The Hindu”.

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Courtesy: The Hindu

Word List-2 (To Improve English Vocabulary)

1. political will (noun) – political intention/desire (to complete a scheme/project even if it is not admired/welcomed in the beginning).
2. bring down (phrasal verb) – cause to reduce, lessen, decrease.
3. mortality rate (noun) – (in a particular time/for a cause) the rate of death.
4. neonatal (adjective) – relating to newborn children.
5. chip away at (phrase) – make smaller (gradually); dissolve, wear away/slowly reduce.
6. staggering (adjective) – astonishing, shocking, surprising.
7. stave off (verb) – avert, prevent, avoid (something dangerous or from serious situations).
8. sepsis (noun) – contamination, poison.
9. meningitis (noun) – a serious disease in which the protective membranes (meninges) covering the brain and spinal cord infected with most common symptoms like fever, headache, and neck stiffness.
10. complication (noun) – a secondary disease form existing one.
11. asphyxia (noun) – suffocation; a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from abnormal breathing (Courtesy: Wikipedia).
12. midwife (noun) – a woman who is trained to assist women in childbirth.
13. follow suit (phrase) – follow, emulate, copy/take as an example.

Note:   

1. Click each one of the words above for their definition, more synonyms, pronunciation, example sentences, phrases, derivatives, origin and etc from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/.

2. Definitions (elementary level) & Synonyms provided for the words above are my personal work and not that of Oxford University Press. Tentative definitions/meanings are provided for study purpose only and they may vary in different context. Use it with the corresponding article published on the source (website) via the link provided. 

3. This word list is for personal use only. Reproduction in any format and/or Commercial use of it is/are strictly prohibited.