VOA慢速：美国出生率降至40多年来的最低水平
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U.S. health officials say the nation's birth rate in 2020 fell to its lowest level in more than 40 years.
美国卫生官员说，美国2020年的出生率降至40多年来的最低水平。
The rate fell 4 percent in 2020 to about 3.6 million babies,
到2020年，这一比例下降了4%，降至约360万婴儿,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a new report.
美国疾病控制与预防中心(CDC)在一份新报告中称。
That is the lowest number of U.S. births since 1979.
这是1979年以来美国出生人数的最低数量。
The CDC said it was the sixth year in a rowthat the U.S. saw a decrease in births after the last increase in 2014.
美国疾病控制与预防中心表示，这是美国出生人数连续第六年下降，2014年是最后一次增长。
The rate has dropped an average of 2 percent per year since 2015.
自2015年以来，这一比率平均每年下降2%。
The birth rate dropped for women in every major race and ethnicity, and in nearly every age group.
所有主要种族和民族以及几乎所有年龄组的女性出生率都有所下降。
The CDC said the U.S. fertility rate --which measures the number of births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 --
美国疾病控制与预防中心表示，美国生育率——衡量每1000名15至44岁女性生育的数量——
declined by 4 percent in 2020.
在2020年下降了4%。
U.S. births have been decreasing in younger women for many years, as many mothers started families later and had smaller families.
多年来，美国年轻女性的生育率一直在下降，因为许多母亲组建家庭的时间较晚，家庭规模较小。
Birth rates for women in their late 30s and in their 40s have slowly been increasing.
30多岁和40多岁女性的生育率一直在缓慢上升。
But last year was different.
但去年情况不同。
The CDC's Brady Hamilton was the lead writer of the report.
疾病控制中心的布雷迪·汉密尔顿是该报告的主要作者。
He said one of the most surprising results was the decrease in births even for older mothers.
他说，最令人惊讶的结果之一是，即使是年龄较大的母亲，生育率也在下降。
The CDC report was based on an examination of more than 99 percent of official birth records issued last year.
疾病控制与预防中心的报告是基于对去年发布的超过99%的官方出生记录的检查。
The Associated Press found that births had fallen during the coronavirus pandemic by looking at 2020 data from 25 states.
美联社通过分析25个州2020年的数据发现，在新冠大流行期间出生率下降。
Experts say the pandemic was one likely cause of the drop in U.S. birth rates.
专家说，新冠疫情可能是导致美国出生率下降的一个原因。
Fears about COVID-19 and its effects on the economy may have caused many couples to rethink having a child.
对新冠及其对经济的影响的担忧可能导致许多夫妇重新考虑是否要孩子。
Many of the 2020 pregnancies, however, began well before the coronavirus pandemic.
然而，2020年的许多孕妇早在新冠大流行之前就已经怀孕了。
Hamilton said CDC researchers are workingon a second report to explain the decrease.
汉密尔顿说，疾病控制中心的研究人员正在研究第二份报告来解释下降的原因。
Lorna Thorpe is the director of epidemiology at the Department of Population Health at New York University's Langone Hospital.
洛娜·索普是纽约大学朗格尼医院人口健康系的流行病学主任。
She told Reuters that the latest birth rate drop was in keeping with the downward trend seen in recent years.
她对路透社表示，最近的出生率下降与近年来的下降趋势一致。
But she added that the change in 2020 wasalso linked to "pandemic-related reductions."
但她补充说，2020年的变化也与“流行病相关的减少”有关。
Experts say the current generation in America is getting further away from having enough children to replace itself.
专家表示，美国当前这代人越来越不可能生足够多的孩子来像自己这一代的孩子数量。
Many European countries have also been experiencing birth rate drops and population experts have predicted major decreases in babies born across the continent this year.
许多欧洲国家的出生率也在下降，人口专家预测，今年欧洲大陆出生的婴儿数量将大幅下降。
In Italy, births fell 22 percent in December 2020, nine months after the country went into Europe's first lockdown restrictions.
在意大利，2020年12月，也就是该国进入欧洲首次封锁限制九个月后，出生率下降了22%。
Some large corporations, including Reckitt, Nestle and Danone, say lower birth rates also led to big sales drops in baby formula.
包括利洁时(Reckitt)、雀巢(Nestle)和达能(Danone)在内的一些大公司表示，出生率下降也导致婴儿配方奶粉销量大幅下降。
I'm Dan Friedell.
丹·弗里德尔报道。
这里是 美国之音 频道