This year being the Year of the Dragon, obstetricians have recently observed an increase of about 10 percent in the number of patients visiting obstetrics departments and infertility clinics. In one instance, a couple in which the husband and wife live in different places walked into the clinic and asked straight off for artificial insemination so as to get a made-to-order dragon-year baby. Doctors advise that women who get pregnant before May 15 will have a chance of giving birth to dragon-year sons and daughters.
今年是龍年，婦產科醫師觀察，最近產科、不孕症門診求診民眾增加一成，還有分隔兩地的夫妻一進診間就直言要人工受孕，量身打造龍寶寶。醫師推估，今年五月十五日前受孕就有機會生下龍子、龍女。
Frank Wu, an attending physician at the gynecology and obstetrics department of Taipei City Hospital’s Heping Fuyou Branch, says that dragon years are peak times for childbirth. That, together with the large number of weddings that took place last year — the centennial of the Republic of China — has led to a marked increase recently in the number of women who want to get pregnant. In December last year a husband and wife aged about 34 or 35 visited Wu’s clinic. Because the husband is away working in Southeast Asia most of the time, the couple asked straight off for artificial insemination without bothering to have tests for infertility first, in the hope of hearing some good news before the start of the Lunar New Year.
Photo: He yu-hua, Taipei Times
照片：自由時報記者何玉華
台北市立聯合醫院和平婦幼院區婦產科主治醫師吳劭穎昨天指出，龍年是生育大年，加上百年結婚潮，最近想懷孕的民眾明顯增加，去年十二月一對年約三十四、三十五歲的夫妻求診，由於先生長期在東南亞工作，兩人連不孕症檢查都沒做，就直接要求做人工受孕，希望農曆年前有好消息。
Wu explains that the last day of the Lunar Year of the Dragon will be Feb. 9, 2013. At a rough estimate based on the average 40-week pregnancy, the due date for women who get pregnant when they ovulate in May will almost certainly fall within the Year of the Dragon. More precisely, this refers to women who get pregnant before May 15, since a pregnancy of 37 weeks results in a full-term delivery.
吳劭穎解釋，龍年最後一天為民國一○二年二月九日，以正常孕程四十週粗估，今年五月排卵週期受孕，幾乎可確定預產期在龍年，更精確是今年五月十五日前受孕，懷孕三十七週以上即為足月生產。
Photo: Chen Ching-min, Taipei Times
照片：自由時報記者陳璟民
Wu says that the way to estimate a woman’s due date is to count nine months and seven days forward from the first day of her last menstruation. For example, if the first day of your last menstruation was Jan. 1 and you count forward nine months and seven days from that date, then your due date is Oct. 10. It should be borne in mind, however, that each woman’s pregnancy is different, so the due date is only an estimate.
吳劭穎說，預產期的估計是最後一次月經的第一天加九個月再加七天，他舉例，若最後一次月經的第一天是一月一日，加九個月及七天，預產期為十月八日，不過，每個人孕程不同，預產期只是推估。
Wu says that many women who visit his clinic do not know their own menstrual cycles, so he reminds them that if they want to get pregnant they should make a record of their menstruation.
他也提醒，常有門診女性不知道自身的月經週期，若要成功受孕，必須先記錄月經週期。
Women who have regular monthly periods can subtract 14 days from the number of days between the first days of their menstruations and estimate their ovulation accordingly. For example, if your menstrual cycle is 32 days and you subtract 14 that leaves 18, so ovulation will take place on the 18th day after the start of menstruation. Having intercourse many times during the couple of days before and after ovulation should have the desired result.
月經規則的女性可根據月經週期相隔天數往回減十四天，藉此預測排卵期，例如月經週期為三十二天，減去十四後為十八，排卵日即為月經開始後的第十八天，排卵期前後兩天可密集做人。
Wu says that women who have irregular periods can find out when they ovulate by measuring their basal body temperature or by keeping track of it with regular ultrasound scans. Then, when their ovarian follicles are mature, they can have sex more than usual during the days before and after their ovulation as predicted by a doctor.
吳劭穎說，若是月經不規則，可量測基礎體溫得知排卵期或透過定期超音波追蹤，等到卵泡發育成熟，即可根據醫師推測的排卵期前後行房。
Wu says that common causes of infertility include irregular menstrual periods, ovary disorders, endometriosis and blocked fallopian tubes. Infertility is generally defined as being where a couple who do not use contraception have sexual intercourse for a year or more without the woman getting pregnant. However, the quality of a woman’s eggs falls as she gets older, so women over 35 do not necessarily have to wait for a full year before seeking medical advice; they can do so after trying but failing to get pregnant for six months or so.
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY JULIAN CLEGG)
吳劭穎強調，常見不孕原因包括月經不規則、卵巢與子宮內膜異位症或輸卵管阻塞，一般不孕是指未避孕，性行為一年以上未懷孕，但卵子品質隨年紀增長而下降，三十五歲以上婦女不一定要等到一年才求診，努力半年沒懷孕即可求診。
（自由時報記者林相美）
A: It’s a pity that I can’t go to Australian pop diva Kylie Minogue’s concert. B: Why not? A: Hit Japanese singer Kenshi Yonezu is staging two shows at the Taipei Arena this weekend, and I already bought tickets long ago. B: Wow, isn’t he one of the most popular Japanese singers in recent years? A: And Yonezu’s megahit “Lemon” topped the Billboard Japan Hot 100’s year-end chart in 2018 and 2019 consecutively. A: 我不能去澳洲歌后凱莉米諾的演唱會真可惜。 B: 為什麼？ A: 日本人氣歌手米津玄師週末將在小巨蛋熱唱兩場，我早早就買票啦。 B: 哇他可是日本近年來最紅的歌手之一。 A: 米津的神曲《Lemon》甚至還在2018、2019年連續稱霸告示牌日本單曲榜年度冠軍！ (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪)
A: Australian pop diva Kylie Minogue is set to visit Taiwan for the third time on Saturday. B: I remember that her Taipei concerts in 2008 and 2011 caused a sensation, and I love her megahit “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.” A: This will be her first time performing in the southern city of Kaohsiung. B: Many music critics praise Kylie’s show as “a must-see in your lifetime.” A: Let’s go to Kaohsiung this weekend. A: 澳洲歌后凱莉米諾週六即將三度訪台。 B: 她曾在2008、2011年兩度在台北開唱都造成大轟動，我超愛她的神曲《Can’t Get You Out of My Head》。 A: 這次可是她首度唱進南台灣的高雄呢。 B: 許多樂評家說她的演唱會是「此生必看」！ A: 那我們週末去高雄吧。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
The Lemon Festival is a fun annual celebration in Menton, France. This festival began in 1934 and honors the region’s exceptional lemons. __1__ in February during the lemon season, the festival features beautiful floats and sculptures covered with dazzling lemons and oranges. These citrus creations are on display in the bright sunshine throughout the day, while at night, they are lit up and turn the town into a __2__ spectacle. The festival’s origins can be traced back to the late 19th century, when Menton was a major lemon producer. __3__, hotels would decorate their spaces with lemons and oranges
中國海關總署突然發布通知，指台灣輸入的釋迦及蓮霧檢出介殼蟲「大洋臀紋粉蚧」，決定暫停輸入。 In September 2021, China’s customs administration announced that it would suspend imports of sweetsop and jambu from Taiwan, citing discoveries of Planococcus minor, a type of mealybug. 蓮霧 (jambu/champoo, Syzygium samarangense) ，又名洋蒲桃，是桃金孃科熱帶水果，原產於印尼和馬來西亞，在星、馬稱作水蓊，中、港、澳稱作天桃。 蓮霧學名中的種小名 samarangense，係因模式標本採自印尼的Semarang (三寶瓏) 而得名。 蓮霧馬來語稱為 jambu air，第二個字 air讀作 /?a??(r)/，是水的意思，荷蘭人從印尼引進台灣，台語音譯為蓮霧 ian-b?。 以往蓮霧常見譯為 wax apple，聽起來好像素描靜物用的蠟製水果 (Wax Fruit)，曾有人問美國朋友要不要吃蓮霧? Care for a wax apple? 對方回一句：Why not a real one? 近來美國市場流行泰語的講法 champoo。蓮霧果實長得像鈴鐺，因此又稱為 bell-fruit。 Syzygium samarangense is a tropical fruit in the family Myrtaceae, native to the Greater Sunda Islands and the Malay Peninsula. Common names in English include champoo, jambu, bell fruit, rose apple, Java apple, and wax apple. In Taiwan, the dark red cultivars are nicknamed “Black
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