The age where a man is most fertile is between 22 and 25 years. It is suggested to have children before the age of 35. After this age, the male fertility begins to worsen. After 35, the sperm might result in pregnancies where mutations can occur.
The study, published 30 August in Human Reproduction , used a federal repository of nearly 170 million birth records to find that the average dad is now 30.9 years old at their child's birth—and that 9% of newborns' fathers are at least 40 years old.
In short, yes (Harris 2019, NICE 2013). 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.
Unlike women, who are born with a finite number of eggs, men continue to produce sperm throughout their life, and some can father children into their 60s and beyond — an age where women's clocks have totally stopped ticking.
Another study that evaluated the relationship between age and semen parameters also concluded that male fertility decline begins at 35, and suggested that male fertility peaks between 30 and 35.
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.
While fewer than 1 percent of first-time fathers are over 50, there are benefits to being a later-in-life father. Dr Paul Turek, a men's health and fertility urologist, says that men who have children at an older age tend to live longer. As an added bonus, their children tend to live longer as well.
A study published in the journal BMJ in October 2018 found that children of men ages 45 to 54 have a 14% higher risk of premature birth and low birth weight, compared with those fathered by men ages 25 to 34.
As the father grows older, the number of mutations in the father's genome increases, leading to an increase in the incidence of congenital malformations in offspring [11, 65]. Older paternal age may be harmful to the offspring's health in terms of genetic mutations, telomere length, and epigenetics [66].
In 1972, the average age of fathers of newborns in the U.S. was 27. Now, it's closer to 31 years old (30.9 years to be specific), the study finds.
Experts say the best time to get pregnant is between your late 20s and early 30s. This age range is associated with the best outcomes for both you and your baby. One study pinpointed the ideal age to give birth to a first child as 30.5.
Among the more recent cohort, men's first births occurred at an average age of 27.5, 2.3 years later than in the late 1980s. Trends in mothers' age at first birth have been similar, rising two years between the late 1980s and today.
“Men's sperm quality seems to deteriorate after the age of 35,” a report published in the peer-reviewed journal, New Scientist, cautions. 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.
Raghav became the world's oldest father at age 94 when his first child was born in 2010. He broke his own record in 2012 when at the age of 96 he had another son. Julio Iglesias Sr. Ecclestone is the former head of Formula One motor racing; he previously had children in 1955, 1984, and 1988.
In 2017, a study published in the journal Human Reproduction found that the average age that men became fathers surpassed 30 — and 9% of newborns were born to men aged at least 40 years old. This is in comparison to the average age of fathers to newborns in 1972, which was 27. Maternal age is increasing as well.
Research has found that older parents tend to be more positive in their parenting roles. 4 That positive parenting attitude may translate into kids that grow up to have fewer behavioral, social or emotional difficulties.
Having babies after 35 is safe
One of the biggest fears around pregnancy after 35 is the increased risk for complications during pregnancy or genetic disorders and other conditions that could affect the baby. But science shows that many healthy parents over 35 have healthy babies.
These babies born to older fathers had increased birth risks such as seizures, low birth weight and need for ventilation immediately after birth. And “advanced paternal age” is not as old as you may think. Men older than 35 are considered to be of advanced paternal age.
Fatherhood – a later life pursuit
The Northern Territory and Tasmania are home to our nation's youngest dads, with the median age of fathers at 31.5 and 31.7 years respectively at the child's birth. However, Victoria and the ACT have the oldest dads, with a median age of 33.7 years at birth.
It's all about Dad's genes
Let's return to the ultrasound discussion. When I tell patients there's about a 50/50 chance for either sex, I also tell them the father's genes determine the baby's sex since some of his sperm carries X chromosomes and some carries Y chromosomes.
At least since 1941, men have told pollsters by more than a two-to-one margin that they would rather have a boy. Women have only a slight preference for daughters. Taking all of this evidence together, the authors conclude that parents in the United States do have a preference for boys over girls.
Indeed, research suggests that fathering daughters changes men's gender attitudes but there is little evidence of change in mothers' attitudes. Among previously-childless men, the birth of a daughter causes a larger shift toward more progressive gender ideology than does the birth of a son (Shafer and Malhotra 2011).
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.
The typical American picture of a family with 2.5 kids might not be as relevant as it once was: In 2022, there was an average of 1.94 children under 18 per family in the United States. This is a decrease from 2.33 children under 18 per family in 1960.