生孩子什么時(shí)候最合適?

Over the past three decades, there has been a steady increase in the average age of parents. Advances in fertility science mean that people can, literally, put their eggs or sperm on ice and delay the start of parenthood.

在過去的三十年里，人們成為父母的平均年齡不斷增加。生育科學(xué)的進(jìn)步確實(shí)使人們可以冷凍卵子或精子，從而推遲做父母的時(shí)間。

Many large companies, such as Apple, Facebook and Google, now offer egg freezing to employees as part of their healthcare package. Putting off having a baby has never been easier or more socially acceptable.

像蘋果、臉書及谷歌等大公司如今為員工提供卵子冷凍作為公司福利的一部份。推遲生孩子從未像現(xiàn)在這般容易，也從未像現(xiàn)在這般被社會(huì)所認(rèn)可。

However, parents have a moral obligation to give their child the best start in life.

然而，父母?jìng)冇械赖铝x務(wù)給孩子們提供最好的人生開端。

But children born to mothers over the age of 35 and fathers over the age of 45 are at greater risk of having genetic and neurodevelopmental disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism , which arguably affects the child's quality of life.

不過在人們生孩子的時(shí)候，如果母親的年齡超過35歲，且父親的年齡超過45歲，那出生的孩子罹患精神分裂癥和自閉癥等遺傳和神經(jīng)發(fā)育性疾病的幾率更大，可以說這會(huì)影響孩子的生活品質(zhì)。

Also, older parents are more likely to need assisted reproduction, such as IVF, which is associated with babies being born early or with low birth weight. Babies born via IVF are also at
higher risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease in later life.

而且，年紀(jì)較大的父母更可能需要輔助生殖技術(shù)，例如體外受精，這與嬰兒早產(chǎn)或出生體重低有關(guān)。通過體外受精出生的嬰兒在晚年罹患心血管疾病及代謝性疾病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)更大。

If prospective parents freeze their eggs or sperm when they are younger, they can reduce some age-associated risks but not those due to IVF.

如果前瞻性父母在更年輕的時(shí)候冷凍卵子或精子，他們可以減少部分年齡相關(guān)的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，但無法避免那些體外受精產(chǎn)生的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。

If a 30-year-old woman delays trying for a baby from age 30 until 35, her chances of falling pregnant are reduced by 9 percent.

如果一名30歲的女子把生孩子的時(shí)間從30歲推遲到35歲，那么她懷孕的可能性會(huì)降低9%。

When to start?

什么時(shí)候生孩子?

The scientific data is clear. The "right" age to have a child according to your biological clock is under 35 for women and under 40 for men.

科學(xué)數(shù)據(jù)很明確。根據(jù)你的生物鐘，生孩子的“合適”年齡對(duì)女性而言是35歲以下，而對(duì)男性而言則是40歲以下。

More than 75 percent of young people underestimate the impact of age on male and female fertility – yet only 27 percent of doctors discuss this with patients aged 18-34 years who wish to delay childbearing for social reasons.

超過75%的年輕人低估了年齡對(duì)男性和女性生育能力的影響，但只有27%的醫(yī)生會(huì)與年齡在18~34歲之間且因?yàn)樯鐣?huì)原因而希望推遲生育計(jì)劃的病人討論這個(gè)問題。

There needs to be a greater awareness about the risks of delaying family planning, and family doctors should play a more proactive role in this.

人們對(duì)于推遲家庭計(jì)劃的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)需要有更深刻的認(rèn)識(shí)，而且對(duì)于這個(gè)問題，家庭醫(yī)生應(yīng)發(fā)揮更加積極的作用。

So, ultimately, if you want to have a child, the right age may be sooner than you thought.

所以，如果你終究會(huì)想要一個(gè)孩子，那么生孩子的合適年齡可能比你所認(rèn)為的更早。