生孩子什么時候最合適?

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。生育科學的進步確實使人們可以冷凍卵子或精子，從而推遲做父母的時間。

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在這般容易，也從未像現在這般被社會所認可。

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

然而，父母們有道德義務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發(fā)育性疾病的幾率更大，可以說這會影響孩子的生活品質。

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，年紀較大的父母更可能需要輔助生殖技術，例如體外受精，這與嬰兒早產或出生體重低有關。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險更大。

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候冷凍卵子或精子，他們可以減少部分年齡相關的風險，但無法避免那些體外受精產生的風險。

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間從30歲推遲到35歲，那么她懷孕的可能性會降低9%。

When to start?

什么時候生孩子?

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.

科學數據很明確。根據你的生物鐘，生孩子的“合適”年齡對女性而言是35歲以下，而對男性而言則是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男性和女性生育能力的影響，但只有27%的醫(yī)生會與年齡在18~34歲之間且因為社會原因而希望推遲生育計劃的病人討論這個問題。

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.

人們對于推遲家庭計劃的風險需要有更深刻的認識，而且對于這個問題，家庭醫(yī)生應發(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，如果你終究會想要一個孩子，那么生孩子的合適年齡可能比你所認為的更早。