Biologically speaking, I am right in the middle of my reproductive age. That's the years between 15 and 49, when most people with ovaries are able to have children. Socially speaking, that means I'm right in the middle of roughly 30 years' worth of public commentary, suggestions and judgments about my fertility. Whether it’s regular pleas from my mum to give her grandchildren, or depictions of desperate females in movies and TV, it's a reality that is hard to escape. And let's not forget about the ads that have been following me around the internet since the age of roughly 25, promising to track my ovulation, confirm a pregnancy or let me know about places nearby where I can freeze my eggs.
生理上讲, 我正处于生育年龄的中期。 生育年期在15-49岁, 大多数有卵巢的人 在这个时段能夠生小孩。 从社会角度而言,这意味着 我正处于大约30年的 公众对我生育能力的评论、 建议和判断期。 无论是妈妈经常表达 抱孙子孙女的想法, 还是电影和电视中 对绝望的女性的描写, 这是很难逃脱的现实。 让我们不要忘记那些 从我大约25岁起就在互联网 跟随我的广告, 承诺监控我的排卵情况, 确认是否怀孕, 或者告诉我附近有什么地方 可以冷冻我的卵子。
But what about the sperm? Why have none of my male friends or the guys I've dated been exposed to this same pressure?
那么精子呢? 为什么我的男性朋友 或者我约会的人没有同样的压力?
[Am I Normal? With Mona Chalabi]
[我正常吗? 与蒙纳沙拉比]
Well, we know from historical data that for generations, research into fertility has focused on poking and prodding uteruses, while our understanding of male fertility has continued to lag behind. For example, in the US, there was a 50-year gap between the founding of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1927 and the formation of the American Society of Andrology in 1975. And today in the US, there are an estimated five reproductive endocrinologists who mostly specialize with female patients, for every one male fertility specialist.
我们从几代人的历史数据知道, 对生育能力的研究 一直集中在戳戳子宫上, 而我们对男性生育能力的理解 一直落后。 比如,在美国有着50年的落差, 1927年成立的美国妇产科委员会 比1975年成立的美国男性学会 成立早50年。 今天在美国, 据估计,针对女性生育能力的 内分泌专家 和针对男性生育的专家 比例为5比1。
Research into male fertility really only began to make waves in the 1990s. And since then, research has started to chip away at the persistent myth that a man's sperm is viable over his entire life.
针对男性生育能力的研究 在1990年代才真正掀起浪潮。 从那时起,研究开始打破男人的精子 在其一生中都是可行的 这一长期存在的神话。
A study from 2013 found that there is a big change that happens in male fertility after the age of 34. At age 35, their sperm count begins to drop. At 40, the sperm concentration, as well as the percentage of sperm with a normal shape, begins to decline. At 43, sperm motility decreases, And from the age of 45, semen ejaculate volume begins to go down. What all of this means is that from the age of 34, there is a declining likelihood that a man will father a child through intercourse. And that probability continues to decline as they get older. Crucially, that decline exists independently of the age of their female partner.
2013年的研究发现 男性的生育能力在34岁之后 发生了巨大的变化。 在35岁,他们的精子数量开始下降。 在40岁时,精子浓度 以及正常形状精子的百分比 开始下降。 43岁时,精子活力下降, 从45岁开始,射精量开始下降。 这一切都意味着从34岁起, 男性通过性交生孩子 有下降的可能。 这种概率随着他们变老 而进一步下降。 至关重要的是,这种下降 与女性伴侣的年龄无关。
Because of research like this, a growing number of physicians are arguing that men have biological clocks, too. This is really important because most fertility research did not control for the age of the father. What this means is that so much of our understanding about how women in their late 30s are struggling to get pregnant has not taken into account that many of them are trying to get pregnant with men in their 40s.
因为这样的研究, 越来越多的生理学家争论说 男性也有生理时钟。 这真的很重要 因为大部分生育研究 并没有控制父亲的年龄。 这意味着我们对女性 三十岁后很难怀孕的理解 并没考虑她们很多人 是跟在40岁的男人怀孕。
Imagine the other fertility breakthroughs that could come about with even better research -- and the effect that all of that would have on our culture and our behavior. Young couples might be able to better prepare when to have children. Guys would be hounded by ads on when to freeze their sperm, and I would have even more reason to continue to date young hot men.
想想另一个可能会出来的更好的 突破性生育研究—— 这一切对我们的文化和行为 造成的影响。 年轻的夫妇能够更好地准备 何时要小孩。 男人们会被什么时候 冷冻精子的广告纠缠不休, 我也就更有理由 继续和年轻性感的男人约会了。
We've always known that it takes two to tango. Now it's time for research to give both partners equal billing.
我们都知道一个巴掌拍不响。 现在研究者是时候 给双方平等的待遇了。