Concerns over older mother trend

Concerns over older mother trend 关注高龄母亲

An urgent public debate on the trend for women to delay motherhood is needed, leading doctors say.

 

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists will publish evidence on Monday about the increased medical risks of pregnancy¹ for older mothers.

 

Doctors are also concerned many women still do not understand how rapidly fertility declines after the age of 35.

 

But other experts said progress in the health service meant the NHS could cope with the trend.

 

The college set up an expert group to look into the issue after the latest figures showed the number of older mothers has risen to record levels.

 

The experts will point out that for a woman over the age of 42 the success rate of a live birth for each IVF cycle falls to 5%, whereas for a woman under 35 it is 31%.

 

Later maternal（母亲的） age may also have implications（关联） for health service as it deals with a growing number of women at higher risk of complications, the college will say.

 

While most pregnancies² in the UK result in a healthy baby, the experts say a minority of older women face the risk of serious adverse³ effects （反作用）such as developing diabetes⁴ in pregnancy.

 

Mandish Dhanjal, a consultant⁵ obstetrician（产科医生） who has pulled together the evidence on medical risks for the college, said the trend to older motherhood was very marked.

 

"If you look at older mothers over the age of 35 - in the mid⁶ 1980s about 8% of those women who got pregnant were over 40 whereas now that figure has more than doubled to 19%".

 

The risks for a woman in her 40s of medical complications are between two and five times higher than a woman in her 20s, although the absolute risks are still quite small.

 

Two of the most serious risks highlighted by the college are pre-eclampsia and diabetes.

 

There is also a concern among specialists that women's perception of motherhood may be overly influenced by celebrity⁷ older mothers.

 

Mr Dhanjal said: "Many young women will be reading magazines which focus on this. Unfortunately the mass media doesn't tend to report the complications".

 

Risks

 

But some commentators（解说员，广播员） believe focusing on the medical risks does not take account of some of the profound social changes shaping women's lives, such as greater opportunities in the world of work and an expectation of financial independence.

 

Frank Furedi, professor of sociology at the University of Kent, who writes on parenting, believes society has not caught up with the changing reality.

 

"I myself don't think there is a huge problem here, if you actually look at the statistics, pregnancy has never been safer.

 

"We have a very good health system that is able to minimise the risks for women having children at 35 or 36."

 

Mary Newburn, of the National Childbirth Trust, said while the parenting charity supported the efforts to make women aware of the medical risks, changes to working practices were also needed.

 

"We now need to look at how we can make it possible for women to have career breaks earlier on and to enable them to have children at a younger age.

 

"Likewise, the introduction of shared parental⁸ leave should lead to less pressure on women to reach a certain point in their career before having children. "

(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

 

1 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

2 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

3 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

4 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

5 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

6 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

7 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

8 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。