How did we get fertility so wrong? | Am I Normal? with Mona Chalabi

Transcriber:

Biologically speaking,

翻译人员: psjmz mz 校对人员: Helen Chang

生理上讲，

I am right in the middle of my reproductive age.

我正处于生育年龄的中期。

That's the years between 15 and 49,

生育年期在15-49岁，

when most people with ovaries are able to have children.

大多数有卵巢的人 在这个时段能夠生小孩。

Socially speaking, that means I'm right in the middle

从社会角度而言，这意味着 我正处于大约30年的

of roughly 30 years' worth of public commentary,

公众对我生育能力的评论、 建议和判断期。

suggestions and judgments about my fertility.

Whether it’s regular pleas from my mum to give her grandchildren,

无论是妈妈经常表达 抱孙子孙女的想法，

or depictions of desperate females in movies and TV,

还是电影和电视中 对绝望的女性的描写，

it's a reality that is hard to escape.

这是很难逃脱的现实。

And let's not forget about the ads

让我们不要忘记那些

that have been following me around the internet

从我大约25岁起就在互联网 跟随我的广告，

since the age of roughly 25, promising to track my ovulation,

承诺监控我的排卵情况，

confirm a pregnancy

确认是否怀孕，

or let me know about places nearby where I can freeze my eggs.

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?

那么精子呢？

Why have none of my male friends

为什么我的男性朋友

or the guys I've dated been exposed to this same pressure?

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,

我们从几代人的历史数据知道，

research into fertility has focused on poking and prodding uteruses,

对生育能力的研究 一直集中在戳戳子宫上，

while our understanding of male fertility has continued to lag behind.

而我们对男性生育能力的理解 一直落后。

For example, in the US, there was a 50-year gap

比如，在美国有着50年的落差，

between the founding of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1927

1927年成立的美国妇产科委员会

and the formation of the American Society of Andrology in 1975.

比1975年成立的美国男性学会 成立早50年。

And today in the US,

今天在美国，

there are an estimated five reproductive endocrinologists

据估计，针对女性生育能力的 内分泌专家

who mostly specialize with female patients,

和针对男性生育的专家

for every one male fertility specialist.

比例为5比1。

Research into male fertility really only began to make waves in the 1990s.

针对男性生育能力的研究 在1990年代才真正掀起浪潮。

And since then, research has started to chip away at the persistent myth

从那时起，研究开始打破男人的精子

that a man's sperm is viable over his entire life.

在其一生中都是可行的 这一长期存在的神话。

A study from 2013 found

2013年的研究发现

that there is a big change that happens in male fertility after the age of 34.

男性的生育能力在34岁之后 发生了巨大的变化。

At age 35, their sperm count begins to drop.

在35岁，他们的精子数量开始下降。

At 40, the sperm concentration,

在40岁时，精子浓度

as well as the percentage of sperm with a normal shape, begins to decline.

以及正常形状精子的百分比 开始下降。

At 43, sperm motility decreases,

43岁时，精子活力下降，

And from the age of 45, semen ejaculate volume begins to go down.

从45岁开始，射精量开始下降。

What all of this means is that from the age of 34,

这一切都意味着从34岁起，

there is a declining likelihood

男性通过性交生孩子

that a man will father a child through intercourse.

有下降的可能。

And that probability continues to decline as they get older.

这种概率随着他们变老 而进一步下降。

Crucially, that decline exists

至关重要的是，这种下降

independently of the age of their female partner.

与女性伴侣的年龄无关。

Because of research like this,

因为这样的研究，

a growing number of physicians are arguing that men have biological clocks, too.

越来越多的生理学家争论说 男性也有生理时钟。

This is really important

这真的很重要

because most fertility research did not control for the age of the father.

因为大部分生育研究 并没有控制父亲的年龄。

What this means is that so much of our understanding

这意味着我们对女性

about how women in their late 30s are struggling to get pregnant

三十岁后很难怀孕的理解

has not taken into account

并没考虑她们很多人

that many of them are trying to get pregnant with men in their 40s.

是跟在40岁的男人怀孕。

Imagine the other fertility breakthroughs

想想另一个可能会出来的更好的

that could come about with even better research --

突破性生育研究——

and the effect that all of that would have on our culture and our behavior.

这一切对我们的文化和行为 造成的影响。

Young couples might be able to better prepare when to have children.

年轻的夫妇能够更好地准备 何时要小孩。

Guys would be hounded by ads on when to freeze their sperm,

男人们会被什么时候 冷冻精子的广告纠缠不休，

and I would have even more reason to continue to date young hot men.

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.

我们都知道一个巴掌拍不响。

Now it's time for research to give both partners equal billing.

现在研究者是时候 给双方平等的待遇了。