Want to have a healthy baby? Here's why age matters for men as well

New Delhi: For women, age is the single most important factor in conception. But, it's not just them, looks like age matters for men as well when it comes to fertility.

The quality of a man's sperm decreases with age, after 30, most men begin to experience a drop in testosterone. Besides, the risk of a mother having a miscarriage is higher if the father is over 45.

As per a study published in the Fertility and Sterility Journal, women whose male partners were 40 or even older took five times longer to conceive than those whose male partners were 25 and younger. Also, pregnancy rates decrease between 23% to 38% in comparisons between men under 30 and men over 50.

Furthermore, for couples opting for IVF, the risk of not having a baby is more than five times higher if the male partner is aged 41 or older.

Studies have shown that children born to fathers aged 40 or older are at higher risk of autism spectrum disorder, mental health problems and learning disabilities than their peers who were fathered by men aged under 30.