Paternity after 60: all "for" and "against"

Paternity after 60 years of age is becoming more common nowadays. And this is changing the face of the family. If earlier young people tried to marry immediately after 20 years, now many postpone the formation of a "community cell" at a later date. If earlier the age father looked a bit ridiculous in comparison with his "colleagues" at the parents' meetings, now this abyss is increasingly leveled. People who plan to become fathers after 60 years have a number of advantages. They have financial stability, rich life experience and a lot of free time. There is no doubt that they will be good parents. However, there are shortcomings in this phenomenon, the main of which can be considered problems with the health of offspring.

Fertility

Unlike women who are rapidly losing their ability to conceive after 45-48 years, men demonstrate a decline in fertility gradually. For example, at the age of 41 to 45 years, the ability to conceive is lost by only 7 percent. After the men reach the golden jubilee, fertility rates decrease more quickly. This can be a reason for concern for people planning to become fathers at a later life span. Studies conducted in the field of urology in 2011 show that diseases of the genitourinary system, the risks of which increase with age, can lead to miscarriages in the wife.

Physical health of the fetus

Reflecting on posterity, age-old men risk the health of their unborn children. Scientists have proven that age affects the physical development of the child in the womb. So, in comparison with 45-year-old men, 48 percent of 60-year-old fathers face the problem of late stillbirth of offspring. The report in the magazine "Men's Health" also points to other problems: the risk of low birth weight, premature birth, and a decrease in the gestational age of the fetus (prematurity).

Mental Health

Children born to fathers aged, have increased risks of developing mental abnormalities. In September 2008, an article was published in the journal AMA Psychiatry, telling about the possibility of developing a bipolar disorder in toddlers whose parents are men over 55. Two years earlier, another curious article was published in the same edition, from which it follows that in some cases, middle-aged people also have a risk of reproducing unhealthy offspring. Thus, a man over the age of 40 has a 6-fold increase in the potential to become the father of a child with autism.

The study shows that this risk doubles every ten years. Therefore, if you are seriously planning to have offspring in later life, you need to foresee all the possible outcomes. Compared to their peers, people born to older seniors show a higher percentage of reported cases of schizophrenia, as well as low intellectual potential. It seems that nature with all its might aspires to reward only young people with healthy offspring.

Education

We talked about the minuses, and found out that there are plenty of them. However, late fatherhood has its own distinct advantages. Older men are more tolerant, they have a good vocabulary, life experience and wisdom. They are happy to communicate with their young children and play an active role in their upbringing. They appreciate the delights of fatherhood and devote all their spare time to their offspring. Experts in the field of medicine say that an increased level of tolerance is formed with a gradual drop in testosterone levels in the male body (approximately 1 percent for each lived year of life).

However, sometimes they fall into melancholy. These men understand that when the kid goes to school or goes to college, they will be too old to pay proper attention to his child. But this sad awareness has certain advantages. Our heroes do not spare neither the strength nor the time to have time to give the child a maximum of knowledge and experience.