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While men are still sowing their doddery wild oats into their seventies, much is made of the fact a woman has only a finite amount of years to conceive a baby.
虽然男人在70多岁的时候还能放荡不羁，但女人怀孕的时间却是有限的。
Historically, women would have children much younger - often in their teens. Although the times have largely moved on, there's still an unpleasant pressure unique to women, and one which increases with age.
从历史上看，女性会在年轻的时候生孩子--通常十几岁的时候。尽管时代已发生了很大的变化，但女性仍然面临着令人不悦的压力，而且这种压力会随着年龄的增长而增加。
Women aged 35 and over are classed as 'geriatric mums' despite the fact they're still paying off their student loan and will never get on the housing ladder. We're not to take it personally, though - the terminology is to do with our biology. As we all know, your chances of conceiving a child lessen with age - but chances are you may be "readier" to have a child when you're a bit older.
35岁及以上的女性属于"老年妈妈"一类，尽管事实上，她们仍在还学生贷款、永远买不起房。虽然我们并不是针对个人，但这一术语与我们的生理相关。我们都知道，年纪越大，怀孕的可能性越小--但年纪稍微大点的时候，我们更有可能做好了生宝宝的准备。
It all begs the question, is there an optimum age to become a mum and, if there is, what is it? All the signs, the pressure and the constant discourse about fertility seem to point to "sooner rather than later." However, new research has discovered benefits which fly in the face of this conventional wisdom.
这一切都提出了一个问题：有没有成为母亲的最佳年龄呢，如果有，是多少岁呢？所有的迹象、压力和有关生育的各种话题似乎都认为"越早越好。"然而，新研究发现的益处却公然挑衅这一传统智慧。
A new study conducted at the University of Southern California has found that having a baby after age 35 improves the mental abilities of the mother. A far cry from the "ye olde geriatric mum" sentence, it also ties with previous evidence that having a baby after this age can increase life expectancy.
在南加州大学开展的一项研究发现：35岁以后生宝宝能提高母亲的智力。这与"老年妈妈"一说相差甚远，同时也与先前的研究相一致：35岁以后生宝宝能延长寿命。
830 postmenopausal women had several different tests performed on them as part of the research. These participants were tested on planning, visual perception, verbal memory, concentration, and attention.
在研究的其中一个阶段，研究员对830位已经绝经的女性进行了几项不同的测试，测试了她们的规划能力、视觉感知、口头记忆、集中度和注意力。
Women who had their first baby after 24 performed better on mental acuity tests, problem solving, and verbal skills compared to those who became mothers between the ages of 15 and 24. Women who had their last baby after 35 had better verbal memory and cognition. This increased mental clarity is thought to be related to a surge in oestrogen and progesterone during pergnancy.
与那些在15岁至24岁间生了头胎的女性相比，24岁后生了头胎的女性在头脑敏锐度测试、问题解决和口头技能上的表现更为出色。35岁之后生了最后一胎的女性拥有更好的口头记忆和认知。研究员认为，这种大脑清晰度的增加与孕期雌激素和孕激素的激增有关。
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