Although most men are able to have children well into their 50s and beyond, it becomes gradually more difficult after the age of 40 . There are many reasons for this, including: Sperm quality tends to decrease with age.
Am I too old? While certain risks may rise with age, men continue to produce sperm throughout their lives and can father healthy children into old age.
Absolutely. So my advice for other would-be, could-be or soon-to-be fathers is as follows….. Regardless of your age, if you and your partner both feel ready (or almost ready) then don't wait.
Male fertility generally starts to reduce around age 40 to 45 years when sperm quality decreases. Increasing male age reduces the overall chances of pregnancy and increases time to pregnancy (the number of menstrual cycles it takes to become pregnant) and the risk of miscarriage and fetal death.
Just under a quarter of U.S. men between ages 40 and 50 were childless, and about 17% had never been married by the time they were in their 40s.
A recent study in the USA found that there are additional risks for the baby, demonstrating that fathers older than 45 had a 14 per cent greater chance of their babies being born prematurely and at low birth weight (each of which can cause long-term complications).
Of the roughly 4 million births each year in the U.S., about 9 percent of fathers are over 40. And "about 40,000 newborns have a father over the age of 50," says Michael Eisenberg, an assistant professor of urology at Stanford University Medical Center and the senior author of the study.
Peak male fertility is around 25-29 years old. Sperm quality begins to decline at 30. At 45, men begin to experience a significant decrease in semen volume. Older men can also take longer to conceive a child.
There's no expiration date on when guys can father a child. Case in point: Rocker Mick Jagger just had his eighth child at the age of 73. Since men don't hit menopause—the time in a woman's life where her fertility ends—they can typically continue to father children into their later years.
Pregnancy in Your 40s
If you get pregnant after 35 years old, experts call this an “advanced maternal age” pregnancy. But it's still possible to get pregnant and deliver a healthy baby in your 40s. Childbirth at older ages has become more common too. Since the 1990s, birth rates in people aged 40-44 have gone up.
Older women are more likely to miscarry or have a stillbirth. They have a greater chance of developing gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and of delivering a baby who is very small. Then there can be problems with labor, resulting in a higher chance of cesarean birth.
Furthermore, fathers were consistently older, at 30.7 years on average, than mothers, at 23.2 years on average, but the age gap has shrunk in the past 5,000 years, with the study's most recent estimates of maternal age averaging 26.4 years.
Paternal age increases the frequency of congenital diseases such as heart malformations as well as oral, palate and lip cleft. Moreover, mental disorders (autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, low IQ level as well as ADHD) also occur more frequently in advanced father's age.
A 2019 study determined that a father's age has a significant impact on a child's health and development. The study found that babies born to older fathers had an increased risk of cleft lip or palate, heart defects, autism, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
There's no maximum age that stops a man from being able to have a baby. You can become a father long into your older years, but there are risks.
In women 40 years or over , the risk of pregnancy complications, such as high blood pressure, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes, increases. The rate of birth abnormalities or genetic conditions in the baby also increases.
The median age of all mothers for births registered in 2016 was 31.2 years, while the median age of fathers was 33.3 years.
A trained expert checks your sperm count, their shape, movement, and other characteristics. In general, if you have a higher number of normal-shaped sperm, it means you have higher fertility. But there are plenty of exceptions to this. A lot of guys with low sperm counts or abnormal semen are still fertile.
Men over 35 are about half as fertile as men under 25, and on average it takes men over 40 two years to get their partner pregnant while men under 25 take just 4.5 months. Other eye-opening fertility issues include: For couples having IVF, the risk of not getting pregnant is five times higher if the man is over 41.
Male fertility can last an entire lifetime, barring any genetic or medical condition. The average man makes anywhere between 40-300 million sperm per milliliter.
Some men develop depression, loss of sex drive, erectile dysfunction, and other physical and emotional symptoms when they reach their late 40s to early 50s. Other symptoms common in men this age are: mood swings and irritability.
The scientists also note that at the age of 35, the proportion of sperm carrying an X chromosome also seems to increase, meaning older dads are more likely to have daughters. In human reproduction, the Y chromosome is responsible for making a male child.
As men hit their 40s, hormonal and physiological changes occur. You might notice a reduced sex drive, lack of energy and weight gain despite everything about your lifestyle remaining the same. The good news is these changes aren't the be-all and end-all for this new stage of your life.
Age and sperm
Men younger than 40 have a better chance of fathering a child than those older than 40. The quality of the sperm men produce seems to decline as they get older. Most men make millions of new sperm every day, but men older than 40 have fewer healthy sperm than younger men.
Older dads may live longer, as do their offspring
“The good thing about being an older dad is that you tend to live longer, and you certainly have lots of young reasons to,” says Dr. Turek. “Your offspring also tends to live longer.