DENVER — The belief that women’s age is the only thing that matters when it comes to fertility might be wrong. A study from the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine finds men have a biological clock too.
The study was conducted on mice. It found once they reach midlife — the equivalent of a 45- to 50-year-old man — only 1 of 13 was able to father a viable pregnancy. That means it’s not just an issue of sperm count but sperm quality.
“I think it’s important because we have really trivialized the male contribution saying it doesn’t matter if your husband is 40 or 50 or 60, he’s still makes sperm every three months. It’s brand new sperm, it’s good to go, no worries. This suggests that relatively speaking, the younger both parties are, the healthier that baby’s going to be,” said Dr. William Schoolcraft, the Medical Director at the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine.
Schoolcraft said in nearly one-third of cases, problems with male fertility impact a couple’s ability to conceive. He added this new research will help doctors figure out another piece of the puzzle.
Researchers also found that sperm from middle age or older mice is likely to lead to successful in vitro fertilization.