News
Male biological clock after mid-30s
Scientists say they have found more evidence that men have lower chance of fatherhood as well as women after their mid 30s.
A study made in French covered over 12,200 couples which were having fertility treatment has made a suggestion that the probability of a successful conception and pregnancy significantly decreases when the man is over 35 years of age because DNA damage in sperm. They added that the chance falls even more when man is over 40.
All studied couples were given artificial insemination, where sperm is inserted into the womb when the woman is ovulating. All the women in studied couples had no fertility problems.
Rates of pregnancy, miscarriage and births were recorded.
In addition, the researchers analyzed detailed data on the pregnancies, which allowed them to pinpoint factors associated with the man and the woman. Miscarriages were morelikely in woman after 35. But the scientists also found that if men was elder than 36, the miscarriages were also more likely than in pairs where the man was under 30.
And if a man was over 40, the chances of a successful pregnancy were even lower.
One of the solutions of this problem may be IVF (where an egg is fertilized in a lab dish) and ICSI (where a sperm is injected directly into an egg), where the best sperm can be selected for use.
These methods are not guaranteeing of success themselves, but they may help couples where the man is older to achieve a pregnancy more quickly.
