Australian dads are among the oldest in the world, and we're not getting any younger. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' data on registered births in 2020, the median age of fathers is 33.6 years, rising from 28.5 years in 1975, when data was first collated.
an increase in the average age of first-time mothers (from 28.4 years in 2011 to 29.7 years in 2021) a decrease in smoking at any time during pregnancy (from 15% in 2009 to 8.7% in 2021)
From a biological standpoint, experts recommend a man is best suited to fatherhood from his late 20s to early 30s. It is still possible for men to father a child in their 50s and older.
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.
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.
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.
Even with all the understandable talk of “windows of opportunity” and “biological clocks,” there are ways for women over 35 to make motherhood a reality. Infertility treatments can be difficult and expensive, but fertility specialists can talk with you about options. Age is less of a limitation than it used to be.
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.
While the majority of children are born to fathers between the ages of 20 and 34, becoming a later-in-life dad is a distinct trend. Current research indicates that since 1980, birth rates have increased 40 percent for men ages 35 to 49.
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.
The risks of miscarriage and stillbirth are higher in people who are older than 35. Also, multiple pregnancy is more common when you are older. As the ovaries age, they are more likely to release more than one egg each month. Some fertility treatments also increase the chance of a multiple pregnancy.
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.
This goes against the old cultural message that people over 35 should no longer bear children, which is not true in most cases. "This pre-pregnancy-related anxiety about one's fertility being finished is more of a worry than a reality," reassures Dr. Fraga.
But what happened after she was labelled 'Australia's youngest mum'? Six years on, here's what happened to the now-21-year-old from Melbourne.
Australians have an easy-going attitude to children and in most places they are welcome – small luxury hotels may stipulate no under-12s and tots are discouraged in upmarket restaurants.
In Australia, you're considered to be an adult when you turn 18 years old.
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. George Lucas, Steve Martin and Rod Stewart all famously fathered children in their late 60s.
Turns out, men have their own ages to be mindful of. “It's on a hockey stick shaped curve [of risks], just as it is with women, but with men the stick is a lot longer. The risks can start at 40 or maybe even 50 or 60 and then [risks] rapidly rise after 60,” says Dr. Paul Turek, a men's health and fertility urologist.
Not optimal, but not selfish either
The point here is to look at some of the things which people say are selfish and realize that, while it may not be the “optimal conceiving time” there are plenty of reasons to have a child over forty and those reasons are not by definition selfish.
Your fertility will begin to go down around age 30. This process continues more quickly starting in your mid-30s. Once you reach 45, your fertility will usually be so low that a natural pregnancy is unlikely for most people. But some people may still have a “menopause baby.”
Is it dangerous to be pregnant at age 47? "The scientific literature says women do quite well in pregnancy at this age," Grifo said. "But it is a little riskier. There's a higher risk of developing high blood pressure, diabetes, and needing a C-section, all of which are manageable."
Women in their late 30s and 40s are having babies at higher rates than ever these days, and the vast majority have healthy pregnancies and babies. But because being pregnant at age 45 comes with increased risks, it's wise to take extra care and some additional precautions to ensure the best outcome possible.
Superfetation is a rare event that involves getting pregnant a second time while you're already pregnant. It's so uncommon that cases of superfetation often make headlines. Your body does a good job preventing subsequent pregnancies once an embryo is developing inside your uterus.
“A healthy 38-year-old could have an easier pregnancy than a 20-year-old who has multiple medical issues,” Dr. Kalish says. “It's really a gradual increased risk little by little over age 35, and it's incredibly individualized.”
While a 92-year-old woman delivering a 60-year-old baby may sound like a bizarre plot twist from the movie “Benjamin Button,” it's true. Huang Yijun, 92, of southern China, recently delivered a child which she'd been carrying for well over half a century. The baby wasn't alive, however.