Older Dads increase a woman's risk of having a miscarriage.
A new study warns that the DNA vital to making a healthy baby may be damaged in ageing sperm. The risk of a miscarriage begins to increase when Dads are as young as 35. One in five partners of men over 35 will miscarry. Once the prospective fathers is over 40 that figure rises to a massive one in three.
The study suggests that men have just as much of a biological clock as women. So if a man wants to be a DAd he shouldn't wait till he's over 40 and definitely not until he is 45. It would seem that, just like women, men are a lot less fertile from the age of 35.
Jaques de Mouzon, of the French National Institute for Medical Research, is one of the French scientists behind the new warning to potential Dads. He said:"People say men are fertile into old age, 90 even. That may be true sometimes, but the product is different and there are more abnormalities as age advances. It is necessary for men to have children before the ages of 40 to 45. There is a decrease for men in fertility and an increase in the spontaneous abortion rate when men are over 40 and especially after 45"
Until recently, gynaecologists focused only on maternal age, as a woman's fertility reduces significantly in their early 30s and dramatically decreases after the age of 35.
Doctor Stephanie Belloc, fromthe Eylau Centre for Asssisted Reproduction in Paris, who led the research, admits that "...the gynaecologists must also focus on paternal age....and for the one-in-seven couples who struggle to have a baby naturally, this could be vital." She suggests that couples who have fertility treatment should consider methods other than IVF. In IVF the egg is fertilised by sperm in a lab, but she believes that couples should consider ICSI. In ICSI DNA is taken out of the sperm, tested and if found to be strong and healthy, is injected straight into the egg. She added: "We believe a link between paternal age and DNA decay are implied in miscarriage."
July 2008
For more information on Miscarriage Click Here
Trying For A Baby
Back To Our Main News Section
Look At Other News Snippets Here | 
Time To Get Back To Sleep
