Tick tock

I've suspected this bit of news for quite some time.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A couple's risk of having a pregnancy end in miscarriage appears to rise along with the father's age, regardless of how old the mother is, researchers reported Monday.

Their study, of nearly 14,000 women who were pregnant in the 1960s and 70s, found that the risk of miscarriage was 60 percent greater when the father was age 40 or older than when he was 25 to 29 years old.

What's more, age made a difference even for men in their 30s. Miscarriage risk was about three times greater when the man was between 35 and 39 years of age than if he were younger than 25.

These risks were all independent of the mother's age, a well-known factor in miscarriage, the researchers report in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

The findings add to evidence showing that, like women, men have a biological clock.

Although men continually produce new sperm and can father children even in their golden years, research shows that their fertility gradually declines starting at a relatively young age. Also, as with women, older fathers are more likely to have children with birth defects.

One recent study found that a man's ability to have a child fades after the age of 40, similar to a woman's fertility decline after age 35. Another confirmed that genetic abnormalities in sperm steadily become more common as men age.

Miscarriages, particularly those in the first trimester, often occur because of genetic anomalies in the fetus, which may explain the risk tied to paternal age.

Dear wife and I have some history related to this very topic. Go here if you want to read the details.

Our bodies age, for both men and women. As we do our bodies breakdown. Procreation takes two people from opposite sexes. While the female would have the bigger and more direct role, it would seem biologically logical that a male's health would be a factor in whether a pregnancy is sucessful or not.

Hat tip- Outside the Beltway
Open Post- Bloggin Outloud, Planck's Constant,