WOMEN have long been conscious about their biological clocks but recent research shows that men are not immune from declining fertility. We find out the facts from a South Yorkshire fertility expert and ask how to boost a man's chances of fatherhood whatever age he is.
WOMEN have long been conscious about their biological clocks but recent research shows that men are not immune from declining fertility. We find out the facts from a South Yorkshire fertility expert and ask how to boost a man's chances of fatherh
ood whatever age he is.
WHILE women are all too aware of the ticking of their biological clock, most men may believe their potency is unaffected by age.
Now it seems there's equality in fertility if nothing else - as a new study warns that a man's ability to father children also begins to decline from his mid-30s.
Doctors have long known that a woman's fertility drops sharply in her mid to late 30s, but the latest research in France found that women whose partners were 35 or older suffered more miscarriages than those with younger men.
The study also found that pregnancy rates were lower among women whose partners were over 40.
But age may be only one of the factors affecting male fertility - with lifestyle factors such as smoking and diet also seen as significant.
Whatever the causes there is greater recognition that fertility problems affect men. A major survey of GPs by Norwich Union Healthcare suggested that more than two million men might be affected by fertility problems although many are unaware of it.
One Danish study in 1991 even claimed that sperm counts of Western men had fallen by about half in 50 years. Almost 18 years later, scientists are still trying to explain the finding.
Clare Brown, chief executive of Infertility Network UK, which runs a support group in Sheffield, says: "It is commonly thought that women are the only sufferers of fertility issues, but in around one third of couples who suffer from infertility, it's a male factor which is the issue."
Lack of data relating to fathers and births makes it difficult to accurately assess the extent of male fertility problems, according to Dr Allan Pacey, a senior lecturer in male reproduction at Sheffield University.
He says: "There's an ongoing debate about whether or not male infertility is increasing. It may be that we're just becoming more aware of male infertility because there's a trend for couples to delay starting a family until their 30s.
"This age group are more likely to encounter problems conceiving and that's leading to an increase in the numbers coming to fertility clinics. Consequently we are more able to identify men with problems."
He identifies the most common reasons for a male fertility problem as an inade-quate number of sperm or sperm of an abnormal shape.
While men continually produce sperm, unlike women who are born with a finite number of eggs, the number they produce is determined by factors outside their control.
"The number of sperm a man makes is largely determined by what happened to him in his mother's womb. For instance, there is evidence that if a baby was malnourished in the womb or his mother smoked when she was pregnant with him, his ability to produce sperm as an adult may be reduced."
Other adverse factors affecting sperm production later in life are poor development of testicles in childhood or adolescence, or illness such as cancer.
Men, in general, are probably unaware that they may be affected by low fertility or infertility.
Dr Pacey, who's also secretary of the British Fertility Society, says: "Many men confuse sexual functionality with fertility - in other words they assume that the fact that they can have sex correlates with their ability to father children. For some men this is not the case."
But Dr Pacey stresses: "While there's no magic solution for men to make more sperm, there's lots men can do by improving their lifestyles to ensure the sperm they do produce are as good as they can be."
Dr Pacey's top tipsGive up smoking: Smoking affects sperm quality.
Lose weight: Excess pounds reduce the chance of fatherhood.
Eat your greens: Enjoy a balanced, healthy diet.
Watch the clock: Delaying fatherhood past the age of 40 could affect your chances of success according to research.
Stay cool: Chuck out the Y-fronts, skin-tight jeans and cycling shorts.
Take a test: Chlamydia - thought to affect around one in 10 young men in the UK - can reduce a man's fertility according to research.
READ MOREMain news indexYour letters.
FeaturesMore Rotherham newsMore Doncaster newsMore Barnsley newsCheck out the very latest on South Yorkshire's roads - including live traffic cameras on Sheffield's commuter routes - with our Traffic sectionLatest sport. The full article contains 811 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
