caesarean 復習

オーストラリアで女の子4人、男の子1人の五つ子が生まれました。

Australian mum reveals quintuplets in photo shoot

An Australian mother who gave birth to quintuplets in January has released a photo shoot of her unlikely new arrivals.

Perth resident Kim Tucci, 26, took just two minutes to give birth to her four daughters and one son, who were conceived naturally.

A team of 50 doctors and nurses assisted with the planned caesarean and all of the children were born healthy.

The chance of conceiving quintuplets naturally is about one in 55 million.

Mrs Tucci's story gained prominence through her Facebook page, Surprised by Five, where she recorded the details of her pregnancy.

Local business Erin Elizabeth Photography, which helped document Mrs Tucci's pregnancy, organised the quintuplets' photo shoot.

"50 fingers 50 toes, 6 hearts beating at once. My body fought the toughest of battles to get five babies here safely," Mrs Tucci, 26, wrote when she posted the photos.

"Everything I did I did for them."

In an interview with Australian current affairs program 60 Minutes in April, Mrs Tucci said she felt like her body was "shutting down" during the pregnancy.

She said that doctors originally offered her the choice of saving two of the babies while terminating the others, due to serious health risks to both her and the unborn children.

"No-one thought I could do it, and I did, I showed everyone in my life," Mrs Tucci told 60 Minutes.

Mrs Tucci and her husband Vaughn already have a nine-year-old son and daughters aged two and four.

The Tuccis are attempting to raise money for a van that is big enough to fit their entire family.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-36244902

今回気になった単語はcaesareanです。

単語の読み方から、ローマの皇帝シーザー（カエサル）か、彼の息子のカエサリオンに関連した単語なのかと思いましたが、文脈に合わないので調べてみました。

まず、LDOCEを見ると” an operation in which a woman's body is cut open to take a baby out”と定義されていました。

『ジーニアス英和辞典』（第五版、大修館書店）で確認をするとcaesarean section (operation) で「帝王切開」とあります。
さらに、「Caesarがこの方法で生まれたという伝説から」と記載されておりました。

だから、「帝王」が日本語に使われているのかと納得しかけましたが、他の由来も気になって調べたところ、

1. 当時のローマは母親が出産時に亡くなった際に子供を助ける方法だったのに対し、カエサルの母親は生きていたので本当は帝王切開で生まれていなかった。
2. もとのドイツ語の単語 (Kaiserschnitt)の誤訳であった。

など、様々な説があり、確実な語源はわかりませんでした。最も有力なのは2だそうです。

今回、五つ子が生まれたお家には、もとから3人のお子さんがいるそうなので、とても賑やかな家庭になると思いました。(flyingbird)