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出産ラッシュ
雅子さんが属する研究グループは、このところお産ばやり。1年半ほど前に、1ヵ月間に3人の子供が誕生し、今夏も3人の研究員が出産を控えています。雅子さんが母親になったばかりの女性たちに話を聞くと、皆楽しそうにお産体験を語ってくれます。そして最後には、決まって「今度はあなたの番?」と聞かれるのだそうです。
Baby Trend Booming
By MASAKO YAMADA
I was reading the Sunday Times today and a special
section immediately caught my eye. The section was
called "Women's Health." I grabbed it even before I
opened my usual favorite section, "Sunday Styles."
I don't know if it's because I went to a women's
college or if it's just because I am a woman, but I
can't seem to resist articles on women's health. Not
too surprisingly, many of the articles in this section
concentrated on reproductive issues. I eagerly read
the articles.
I've mentioned many times that my group is very
large. Since there are so many people in the group, we
have enough members to form a kind of society. We are
also able to see different trends sweeping the group.
Right now, there seems to be a trend in having babies:
This is no small wonder considering that so many of the
group members are of childbearing age.
Three of the group members are having babies this
summer. About a year and a half ago, three babies were
born within a month or so, too. Another trend is that
five out of six of these babies are girls. Maybe it has
something to do with the laboratory air.
I've had the opportunity to speak to many of these new
parents and I've especially enjoyed speaking to the
women. Although I've tried to be discreet in asking
them questions about this very personal experience, most
of them have in fact been extremely frank about talking
about their childbirth experiences.
Indeed, they have seemed to enjoy my interest in the
topic and have provided extra details without my asking
("My cervix had dilated only 3 cm at 2:00 p.m. on
Saturday. And then ...").
One of the things that I've heard over and over is
that they consented to epidurals only after the pain
became so unbearable that they were losing the energy
to push. The women have told me that part of the reason
they were reluctant to have the epidural is because
there is the slight risk that their spines could be
damaged. They also probably felt the lingering guilt
that natural is better.
Interestingly enough, the "Women's Health" section
of the Sunday Times had a humorous article saying that
more and more women are moving away from the once-trendy
natural birth movement and are wholeheartedly embracing
epidurals and other medical advances to help make the
experience more comfortable.
The women I talked to all seemed extremely happy with
their eventual choice to have epidurals. One woman said
she was even able to watch her baby come out, since they
held a mirror so she could see. She said she could only
remember pain from her first childbearing experience
which was a natural birth, and that this was very
different.
One of the trends from the 80's that has not gone out of
style is to have family members in the delivery room.
The stereotypical father of the 50's paces the hall
outside the delivery room and waits to hear the baby cry.
The stereotypical father now brings juice to the mother,
massages her back, holds her hand and perhaps even keeps
the video camera running while the woman is in labor.
Needless to say, he often tags along on visits to the
OB/GYN both before and after the birth as well.
One of my labmates who just had a baby told me that
he felt unprepared for all of this supporting work.
He'd grown up in the Soviet Union, where men do not do
this sort of thing. However, he was very eager to learn
how to help his American wife and he enlisted in the
help of a nurse friend for guidance.
Apparently, he did the job well, including holding a
shower head for two hours when his wife started having
contractions so that she could relax her back. It took
her 40 hours to give birth after her water broke and
she was in hard labor for 24 hours. His wife told me
that when they finally performed the epidural, the doctor
suggested that he go away. However, he stayed the entire
time. I was impressed.
These stories are always fascinating to me and I
love looking at the children of my friends. However, when
they invariably ask me, "So, why are you so
interested? Is it going to be your turn soon?" I
unhesitatingly yell, "Noooo
I was reading the Sunday Times today and a special
section immediately caught my eye. The section was
called "Women's Health." I grabbed it even before I
opened my usual favorite section, "Sunday Styles."
I don't know if it's because I went to a women's
college or if it's just because I am a woman, but I
can't seem to resist articles on women's health. Not
too surprisingly, many of the articles in this section
concentrated on reproductive issues. I eagerly read
the articles.
I've mentioned many times that my group is very
large. Since there are so many people in the group, we
have enough members to form a kind of society. We are
also able to see different trends sweeping the group.
Right now, there seems to be a trend in having babies:
This is no small wonder considering that so many of the
group members are of childbearing age.
Three of the group members are having babies this
summer. About a year and a half ago, three babies were
born within a month or so, too. Another trend is that
five out of six of these babies are girls. Maybe it has
something to do with the laboratory air.
I've had the opportunity to speak to many of these new
parents and I've especially enjoyed speaking to the
women. Although I've tried to be discreet in asking
them questions about this very personal experience, most
of them have in fact been extremely frank about talking
about their childbirth experiences.
Indeed, they have seemed to enjoy my interest in the
topic and have provided extra details without my asking
("My cervix had dilated only 3 cm at 2:00 p.m. on
Saturday. And then ...").
One of the things that I've heard over and over is
that they consented to epidurals only after the pain
became so unbearable that they were losing the energy
to push. The women have told me that part of the reason
they were reluctant to have the epidural is because
there is the slight risk that their spines could be
damaged. They also probably felt the lingering guilt
that natural is better.
Interestingly enough, the "Women's Health" section
of the Sunday Times had a humorous article saying that
more and more women are moving away from the once-trendy
natural birth movement and are wholeheartedly embracing
epidurals and other medical advances to help make the
experience more comfortable.
The women I talked to all seemed extremely happy with
their eventual choice to have epidurals. One woman said
she was even able to watch her baby come out, since they
held a mirror so she could see. She said she could only
remember pain from her first childbearing experience
which was a natural birth, and that this was very
different.
One of the trends from the 80's that has not gone out of
style is to have family members in the delivery room.
The stereotypical father of the 50's paces the hall
outside the delivery room and waits to hear the baby cry.
The stereotypical father now brings juice to the mother,
massages her back, holds her hand and perhaps even keeps
the video camera running while the woman is in labor.
Needless to say, he often tags along on visits to the
OB/GYN both before and after the birth as well.
One of my labmates who just had a baby told me that
he felt unprepared for all of this supporting work.
He'd grown up in the Soviet Union, where men do not do
this sort of thing. However, he was very eager to learn
how to help his American wife and he enlisted in the
help of a nurse friend for guidance.
Apparently, he did the job well, including holding a
shower head for two hours when his wife started having
contractions so that she could relax her back. It took
her 40 hours to give birth after her water broke and
she was in hard labor for 24 hours. His wife told me
that when they finally performed the epidural, the doctor
suggested that he go away. However, he stayed the entire
time. I was impressed.
These stories are always fascinating to me and I
love looking at the children of my friends. However, when
they invariably ask me, "So, why are you so
interested? Is it going to be your turn soon?" I
unhesitatingly yell, "Noooo
Shukan ST: July 7, 2000
(C) All rights reserved
chu.htm
- caught my eye
- 目についた
- grabbed
- つかんだ
- ""Sunday Styles"
- ニューヨークタイムズ日曜版で、はやりのファッションやテレビ番組などの話題を扱った欄
- can't seem to resist 〜
- なぜか 〜 を拒否できない
- articles
- 記事
- reproductive issues
- 性や出産に関する問題
- eagerly
- 熱心に
- my group
- 筆者が所属する物理学の研究グループのこと
- form a kind of society
- 一種の社会を作り上げる
- sweeping 〜
- 〜 に広がる
- This is no small wonder considering that 〜
- 〜 を考えるとたいして驚くことではない
- childbearing age
- 妊娠可能な年齢
- Maybe it has something to do with the laboratory air.
- 研究室の空気が影響しているのかもしれない
- discreet
- 慎重で遠慮がちな
- extremely frank
- 非常に開けっ広げな
- Indeed
- 実際
- cervix
- 子宮頚管
- had dilated
- 広がった
- over and over
- 繰り返し
- consented to 〜
- 〜 に同意した
- epidurals
- 無痛分娩に用いる麻酔法
- unbearable
- 耐えられない
- push
- いきむ
- were reluctant
- 気が進まなかった
- slight risk
- かすかな危険性
- spines
- 脊髄
- lingering
- 心の隅にこびりついている
- guilt
- 罪悪感
- humorous
- こっけいな
- wholeheartedly
- 心から喜んで
- embracing 〜
- 〜 を受け入れる
- medical advances
- 医学の進歩
- eventual
- 最終的な
- has not gone out of style
- すたれていない
- delivery room
- 分娩室
- stereotypical
- 典型的な
- paces the hall
- 廊下を行ったり来たりする
- labor
- 分娩
- Needless to say
- 言うまでもなく
- tags along on 〜
- 〜 にもついて行く
- OB/GYN(=obstetrician/gynecologist)
- 産科医・婦人科医
- labmates
- 研究員仲間
- unprepared
- 準備ができていない
- enlisted in 〜
- 〜 の協力をとりつけた
- nurse
- 看護士
- guidance
- 指導
- Apparently
- どうやら
- started having contreactions
- 陣痛(子宮筋の収縮)が始まった
- give birth
- 出産する
- water broke
- 破水した
- hard labor
- 難産
- was impressed
- 感心した
- ( 〜 are)fascinating to me
- 〜 に興味をそそられて夢中になる
- invariably
- 決まって
- your turn
- あなたの番
- unhesitatingly
- ためらわずに
- yell 叫ぶ