The Arrival of Life

Taiwan has long faced one of the world’s lowest fertility rates, far below the level needed to maintain a stable population. Taiwan still holds the record for the lowest birth rate worldwide; although it slightly rose from 1.08 in 2022 to 1.11 in 2024, it remains at the bottom globally. 台灣長期面臨全球最低生育率之一的困境，遠低於維持人口穩定所需的水平。台灣目前仍保持全球最低生育率的紀錄，雖然從2022年的1.08微幅回升至2024年的1.11，但依然位居全球墊底。


In the brightly lit delivery room at dawn, a 46-year-old mother grips the bed rails tightly, her face showing slight tension. Attending physician Dr. Wu En-ci notes that natural conception at her age is rare, even for doctors with over ten years of experience.
清晨的產房裡，燈光明亮。一位46歲的母親緊握著病床兩側的扶手，神情透露些微緊張。主治醫師烏恩慈表示，在她這個年齡自然受孕，即使對執業十年以上的醫師來說，也相當罕見。
Taiwanese women average nearly 33 years for first births. Pregnancies over 35 are deemed high-risk, with markedly higher miscarriage rates, infertility odds, and complications.
台灣女性第一胎平均生育年齡已逼近33歲。35歲以上即被視為高齡孕婦，流產率、不孕機率及妊娠併發症皆明顯上升。
Per National Development Council data, Taiwan ranks among the world's lowest fertility rates, rising slightly from 1.08 in 2022 to 1.11 in 2024 still far below replacement levels. 2023 saw only 135,000 newborns island-wide, with deaths over 200,000, marking two years of population decline. Stagnant wages, high housing, childcare costs, long hours, and late marriages create a "want-to-but-can't" reality for families.
 The Health Promotion Administration's Maternal and Child Health Division notes parental age ties closely to fetal health: women's ovarian function and egg quality decline with age, leading to poor fertilization or chromosomal issues especially post-35, raising risks of miscarriage, preterm birth, birth defects, low birth weight, and complications like gestational hypertension or diabetes.

根據國家發展委員會資料，台灣是全球生育率最低的國家之一，總生育率自2022年的1.08僅微幅上升至2024年的1.11，仍遠低於人口置換水準。2023年全台僅有13萬5千名新生兒，死亡人數則突破20萬，人口已連續兩年負成長。薪資停滯、高房價、托育成本、長工時與晚婚趨勢交織，使「想生但不敢生」成為許多家庭的共同處境。
國健署婦幼健康組指出，父母年齡與胎兒健康密切相關，女性的卵巢功能及卵子品質會隨年齡增長逐漸下降，造成卵子不易受精或胚胎染色體出現異常的情況，尤其是35歲以上孕婦發生流產、早產、胎兒先天缺陷或低出生體重的機率提高，且孕期罹患妊娠高血壓、妊娠糖尿病等高危險合併症的風險也隨之增加。

A 46 year old mother, pregnant and giving birth naturally at an advanced maternal age, said, “This child feels like a gift from above.”

  46歲的高齡產婦自然懷孕生產，她說：『這個孩子像是上天給我的禮物』

She burst into tears of joy when she met her baby for the first time.                                                                                  

和寶寶的第一次見面，喜極而泣

“Spinal anesthesia” involves injecting anesthetic medication into the spinal area in the lower back, allowing the nerves in the spinal canal to be bathed in the drug and causing a temporary loss of sensation below the abdomen.

『半身麻醉』從腰部的脊髓以注射麻醉藥物的方式，讓脊髓內的神經浸泡在藥物之中達到腹部以下暫時喪失感覺。

The moment when life arrives


生命到來的那一瞬間

Husband must wear the surgical gown before entering the operating room.


丈夫想陪同進入手術室得先套上手術服

Before the operation, an inflatable compression sleeve is placed on the expectant mother’s thigh or calf. It automatically inflates and deflates during the procedure to help prevent deep vein thrombosis (DVT).


手術前會先替孕婦把「充氣腿套」套在大腿或小腿上，手術期間會自動充放氣，目的在於預防深層靜脈栓塞（DVT）。

At 9:15 AM, the baby's cry pierces the delivery room. For the first time, the mother and child meet, with tears silently sliding down the corners of her eyes. In the larger structure, he is insufficient to reverse the long-term trend of declining birth rates, but to this mother, this child is not an indicator or statistical figure, but life that has finally arrived after multiple failures. In the context of Taiwan's rapidly aging population and continuously declining birth numbers, the life born at this moment appears immensely precious.
上午9點15分，嬰兒的哭聲劃破產房。母親與孩子初次相見，眼角悄然滑落淚水。在更大的結構裡，他並不足以逆轉少子化的長期趨勢，但對這位母親而言，這孩子不是指標或統計數字，而是歷經多次失敗後終於抵達的生命。在台灣人口快速高齡化、出生數持續下降的背景下，這一刻誕生的生命顯得彌足珍貴。
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