经济学人246:多胞胎 多胞胎怀孕率的减少是件好事

 　　Multiple births

　　多胞胎

　　Oh, baby

　　噢，宝贝

　　A reduction in multiple-birth pregnancies¹ is a good thing

　　多胞胎怀孕率的减少是件好事

　　IT HAS long been known that in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) increases the chances of multiple births, as several fertilised eggs are implanted in a woman to improve the chances of pregnancy². A fifth of all successful IVF treatments in Britain result in multiple-birth pregnancies, compared with just over 1% from natural conceptions.

　　众所周知体外受精（IVF）可以增加多胞胎几率，因为要将几个受精卵植入一个女人体内来提高受孕几率。在英国，自然分娩多胞胎的几率仅超过1%，而体外受精的方式则成功的将多胎妊娠的几率提升到1/5。

　　多胞胎.jpg

　　Such was the success of IVF after the first test-tube baby was born in 1978 that the rate of all multiple-birth pregnancies rose from ten per 1,000 in that year to 16.4 in 2009. The total number of multiple births doubled during that time. However, for women over 35—frequently users of IVF—it shot up 600%.

　　自1978年第一例试管婴儿出生之后，多胞胎受孕率由那一年的千分之十上升到2009年的千分之16.4，这是体外受精的又一成功。多胞胎的总数在那些年间翻了一倍。但是，对于35岁以上的妇女，即体外受精的常见对象，她们生产的多胞胎总数直线上升了600%。

　　When all goes well, a multiple birth can be good news for women who had difficulty conceiving. But it also carries risks: the infant mortality rate is five times higher than for single births. So the fact that newly released statistics show that the number of multiple births has started to fall is welcome.

　　当一切都顺利的时候，多胞胎对于经历了痛苦艰难治疗的不孕妇女来说无疑是个好消息。但这也同样带来危险：多胞胎的婴儿死亡率比一个婴儿高五倍。最新发布的统计数据显示多胞胎的数量正开始降低，这也算是个好消息。

　　This is largely a result of a new policy adopted by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), a regulator. In 2009 it launched the elective single-embryo transfer policy (now part of its multiple-births minimisation strategy) with the aim of reducing overall IVF multiple pregnancies from 27% in 2008 to 20% initially³. HFEA’s latest figures, dating from 2012, show that the rate has slowed to 18%. The current target is 10%. According to the HFEA, multiple-birth pregnancies carry a higher risk of premature⁴ delivery and children having disabilities as well as late miscarriage⁵, high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia for expectant mothers. At least that risk is now being tackled for IVF users.

　　这主要是监管机构人类受精与胚胎管理局（HFEA）执行新政策的结果。2009年它推出了选择性单个胚胎转移政策（如今是多胞胎简化策略的一部分），目的是要将体外受精多胞胎的的总比率由2008年的27%降到最初的20%。HFEA的最新数据显示，从2012年起，多胞胎比率已经降到了18%。目前的目标是10%。根据HFEA的研究得出，多胞胎怀孕有早产、儿童残疾的较高风险，并且孕妇有晚期流产、高血压和先兆子痫的风险。至少现如今IVF受孕对象已经不会被这些风险所困扰了。

1 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。

2 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。

3 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

4 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

5 miscarriage   

n.失败，未达到预期的结果；流产

参考例句：

• The miscarriage of our plans was a great blow.计划的失败给我们以巨大的打击。
• Women who smoke are more to have a miscarriage.女性吸烟者更容易流产。