BBC 6分钟英语 太老而不能生孩子

6 min English from BBC learning english com.

Hello. This is six minute English from BBC Learning English.

I'm Neil, and I'm Beth. Women today are having fewer babies.

More. Women are delaying having children until their forties, the period of ten years in

life between 40 and 49, and some women are giving birth in their fifties, their sixties, even their seventies.

There are many reasons behind the trend for older mums, including better access to education and careers.

But there are also health risks to having children later in life.

So in this program, we'll be asking, when are you too old to have a baby?

And as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.

But 1st, I have a question for you.

Neil. In 2019, mangiyama Yamati gave birth to twins in the state of Andrew Pradesh, south India.

But these were no ordinary twins, because Mangiyama was the oldest recorded woman ever to give birth.

So how old was the oldest Eberma when she gave birth?

Was she a 53 years old?

Be 63 years old, or see, 73 years old?

Hmm, uh. I'm going to guess 63.

OK, neil, we'll find out the correct answer at the end of the program.

Professor of Reproductive Science at University College London, joce Harper has been studying the trend of women choosing to have babies later in life.

Here, she shares her discoveries with BBC World Service Program.

Global Story. 1020, 30 years ago, women were having children at a much younger age.

Now it's become quite normal for women in their thirties, as we see with the world data, there's many countries where women have their 1st birth over the age of 30.

But this is quite a new phenomena.

That's why this term, geriatric mother, unfortunately still lingers.

Professor Harper uses the word phenomena to describe the trend for older mothers.

Phenomena are unusual or significant facts and events that exist and are talked about.

People often get this wrong, but the plural form is phenomena, and the singular is phenomenon.

The concept of older mothers is still quite a new phenomenon, and attitudes towards them are changing.

Mothers over the age of 35 used to be called geriatric, a word many found offensive.

Fortunately, this term is no longer used.

But social disapproval of older mothers still lingers.

If something lingers, it continues to exist longer than usual or expected.

Yes, in some cultures, older mothers are still disapproved of.

But wait a minute, neil, it takes two to make a baby.

What's the man's role in all of this?

Well, unlike women, whose ability to naturally get pregnant declines sharply in their forties, men's fertility last longer.

Rolling Stone singer Mick Jagger famously had his 8th child with his 29 year old partner at the age of 73.

So our older fathers more socially acceptable than older mothers?

Yes, things, professor Harper, as she explained to BBC World Services Global story, we do have a bit of a gender problem here, because if if this was a man in his 60 seventies and even eighties and his father to child, Most people would pat him on the back, but they probably pat him on the back because he's absolutely got a much younger partner.

But if we've got a woman in her 60 seventies, or got a bit eighties, having a child, then it does have a sort of shock reaction, makes people feel uncomfortable.

Professor Harper thinks that society is more accepting of older fathers than older mothers.

A 70 year old man can still father a child.

He could make a woman pregnant, who then gives birth, and most people would pat him on the back.

An idiom, meaning give someone praise or congratulations.

On the other hand, says Professor Harper, god forbid a woman having a baby in her eighties.

Here, the phrase God forbid is used as a way of saying, you hope something will not.

There's another side to this story, though.

In the West, young women from Jenzy, the generation borne since the year 2000, are saying they won't have children at all.

In more traditional countries, meanwhile, a woman's role is as a mother, and many pray to God to be blessed with a child, which is exactly what happens to Manga Yama Yamati, the South Indian woman I ask you about in my question Neil.

In 2019, she became the oldest recorded woman ever

to give birth right. And I guessed she was 63 years old at the time, which was the

wrong answer, I'm afraid. In fact, she was even older 73.

OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned in this program, starting with the phrase in your forties, which describes the period of ten years in someone's life when

they're aged between 40 and 49.

Phenomena describes any significant facts or events that we know exist and can be observed and discussed.

If something lingers, it continues to exist longer than usual or expected.

The verb to father means to make a woman pregnant, who then gives birth to a child.

The idiom pats someone on the back is used to describe giving someone praise, congratulations or encouragements.

And finally, the expression, god forbid is a way of saying that you hope something will not happen.

Once again, our 6 min are up, but don't forget to join us again soon.

For more trending topics and useful vocabulary here at Six Minute English.

Goodbye for now. Bye. 6 min English from BBC learning english dot com.

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