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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be paranoid my husband has old sperm?

70 replies

Grenko · 19/11/2025 14:55

Dh and I have a bit of an age gap. I am 30 and he is 44. Just about to turn 45.

He has no children. Husband and his ex tried to conceive via ivf but it was not possible due to a condition his ex wife has.

We have been together for 3 years. Married for 1. We agreed we would start trying in early 2026.

We went to a fertility clinic a few months ago and things were very positive. But obviously we did touch upon DH’s age and sperm quality.

Ever since I really have just been a little anxious. The chances of a child havings things like autism and schizophrenia are far greater. Which makes me nervous.

I know even young sperm does not guarantee a healthy baby. But all of a sudden I’m really starting to get stressed about this

OP posts:
Lilacsilver · 19/11/2025 16:57

DH was 46 and 48 when DC were born. I was 37 and 39.
I became pregnant both times first month of trying.
We had been together 19 years before that (using contraception) so I did wonder.

Bekcee7 · 19/11/2025 17:03

Calliopespa · 19/11/2025 16:40

And actually some of the world's most valuable contributions have been made by autistic people so I'm not even sure that doesn't qualify as a "perfect baby."

Thank you - I should have placed inverted commas around the “perfect,” it was certainly my intention.

FuzzyWolf · 19/11/2025 17:03

Bekcee7 · 19/11/2025 16:30

You do know that your child may be born with autism regardless, right…? There are no guarantees. If having a perfect baby is a deal breaker for you, you may need to reconsider parenthood altogether…

Perfect is subjective!

This thread seems to have a lot of ignorance and general autism bashing on it.

Calliopespa · 19/11/2025 17:04

Bekcee7 · 19/11/2025 17:03

Thank you - I should have placed inverted commas around the “perfect,” it was certainly my intention.

Yes, and of course it wasn't really you that my comment was directed at.

Jimmyneutronsforehead · 19/11/2025 17:08

Calliopespa · 19/11/2025 16:40

And actually some of the world's most valuable contributions have been made by autistic people so I'm not even sure that doesn't qualify as a "perfect baby."

Look, I'm not going to disagree with you that an autistic baby isn't a perfect baby. To me, all babies are perfect in their own little way.

It is rather disingenuous though to say it's fine if someone has an autistic child because there's a statistically slim chance that they'll be unaffected by the societal barriers around them to the degree that they'll make entrepreneurial or financial contributions to society, or display their value in a way that will benefit society at large.

The OP is just worried that the statistics are less in her favour, and what she needs reassurance of is that she will probably be fine.

Autism is such a huge spectrum, and it is by it's very definition a disability.

My little boy is absolutely perfect to me, and to my family, but I wish I didn't have to go through a 4 year battle from nursery to year 2 to get him an EHCP and an even longer battle to get him into a specialist school. I wish I wasn't still changing nappies when he is nearly 7 years old. I wish he could write his name without someone also holding the pen and guiding the letter formations. I wish, I wish, I wish. I knew when I chose to have a baby that there'd be a chance that they could be born with a disability, or that at some point through their life they could encounter a disablng event, and I knew I would love that baby ever so dearly, like I do. I love him so much, enough to fight for him and his needs despite the isolation and loneliness, and the ever increasing public view that he's a drain on societies resources. I wish I didn't have to go through the heartache of wondering if my child will ever say my name, or be able to tell me when their tummy hurts, or if someone is bullying them, or if someone has behaved inappropriately towards them or taken advantage of them.

I didn't get diagnosed until right before my 29th birthday. I wouldn't want a child to have to go through school doing silly things, and getting into trouble for it, and not realising that the only reason they were doing those things was to fit in because for me, it was so desperately lonely, other children could tell I was just different and avoided me. I wouldn't want my child to grow up and struggle in the workplace and not know why they were struggling or be challenged at every step when they asked for accomodations to do their job to the same capacity that everybody else could. I wouldn't want my child to have the significantly impacted mental health that comes with it all. I wouldn't want my child to feel like if they were unable to work, they were worthless, didn't deserve nice things, and should just exist in pure survival all of the time.

This is what it is like to live with autism. We don't all get the savant type, excellent pattern recognition that enables us to succeed and become multimillionairre tech bros. Many of us don't even make it to IT college, or any college.

I think the OP is being sensible in understanding that the figures for these conditions do increase with age, but it is also right to point out that the biggest factor is genetic, and if neither she nor her partner are autistic, then the chances are significantly reduced. Many, like me for example, don't find out until after their child is diagnosed though.

Fifthtimelucky · 19/11/2025 17:09

My husband was 45 when our first child was conceived and 48 when the second was conceived. I was 10 years younger.

The children are now in their 20s. Neither has any disability or health issues.

Calliopespa · 19/11/2025 17:10

FuzzyWolf · 19/11/2025 17:03

Perfect is subjective!

This thread seems to have a lot of ignorance and general autism bashing on it.

It does. It is inherent in op's post itself.

Some of the brightest and most interesting people I know are autistic, so maybe OP should consider her DH's sperm as "aged like fine vintage wine."

But I don't believe sperm age alone plays a role anyway. From what I have observed it tends to be a family thing.

Obeseandashamed · 19/11/2025 17:12

YANBU to have these worries as it’s natural and actually quite sensible. You would be unreasonable to let it consume you and deter you. Age is one of many factors and may not even come in to play so try not to let it be at the forefront of your mind. Best of luck for your fertility journey. X

Calliopespa · 19/11/2025 17:21

Jimmyneutronsforehead · 19/11/2025 17:08

Look, I'm not going to disagree with you that an autistic baby isn't a perfect baby. To me, all babies are perfect in their own little way.

It is rather disingenuous though to say it's fine if someone has an autistic child because there's a statistically slim chance that they'll be unaffected by the societal barriers around them to the degree that they'll make entrepreneurial or financial contributions to society, or display their value in a way that will benefit society at large.

The OP is just worried that the statistics are less in her favour, and what she needs reassurance of is that she will probably be fine.

Autism is such a huge spectrum, and it is by it's very definition a disability.

My little boy is absolutely perfect to me, and to my family, but I wish I didn't have to go through a 4 year battle from nursery to year 2 to get him an EHCP and an even longer battle to get him into a specialist school. I wish I wasn't still changing nappies when he is nearly 7 years old. I wish he could write his name without someone also holding the pen and guiding the letter formations. I wish, I wish, I wish. I knew when I chose to have a baby that there'd be a chance that they could be born with a disability, or that at some point through their life they could encounter a disablng event, and I knew I would love that baby ever so dearly, like I do. I love him so much, enough to fight for him and his needs despite the isolation and loneliness, and the ever increasing public view that he's a drain on societies resources. I wish I didn't have to go through the heartache of wondering if my child will ever say my name, or be able to tell me when their tummy hurts, or if someone is bullying them, or if someone has behaved inappropriately towards them or taken advantage of them.

I didn't get diagnosed until right before my 29th birthday. I wouldn't want a child to have to go through school doing silly things, and getting into trouble for it, and not realising that the only reason they were doing those things was to fit in because for me, it was so desperately lonely, other children could tell I was just different and avoided me. I wouldn't want my child to grow up and struggle in the workplace and not know why they were struggling or be challenged at every step when they asked for accomodations to do their job to the same capacity that everybody else could. I wouldn't want my child to have the significantly impacted mental health that comes with it all. I wouldn't want my child to feel like if they were unable to work, they were worthless, didn't deserve nice things, and should just exist in pure survival all of the time.

This is what it is like to live with autism. We don't all get the savant type, excellent pattern recognition that enables us to succeed and become multimillionairre tech bros. Many of us don't even make it to IT college, or any college.

I think the OP is being sensible in understanding that the figures for these conditions do increase with age, but it is also right to point out that the biggest factor is genetic, and if neither she nor her partner are autistic, then the chances are significantly reduced. Many, like me for example, don't find out until after their child is diagnosed though.

Yes I can see truth in all this, but with every pregnancy we all take a leap into the unknown and I don't really think it is all that helpful to make assumptions about the relative "value" of children.

I don't mean to belittle the challenges for autistic children and their parents - and actually even the "savant" type abilities don't necessarily mean an easy ride through life.

But then lots and lots of children have challenges that we can't prevent. It isn't actually all that easy for a child who is at the unintelligent end of a "normal" spectrum, or for children who are particularly unattractive, or nasty-natured, or have a limp or dozens of things. Our role as parents is to lead them through challenges.

Of course things like drinking excessive alcohol or not being healthy at the time of conception are easily avoided, but her dh's age is not - and neither is hers. Yet plenty of people of their ages have children and take a leap. And the autism-bashing of some posts here is, I think, off.

RawBloomers · 19/11/2025 17:23

I don't think paranoia is appropriate, but a healthy concern for the affects of aging is. Is your DH at all concerned? Because he is the one who holds the key to lowering risks associated with his age. Stopping any drug use (including tobacco and nicotine), losing weight if he's obese, eating a diet that improves oxidation in sperm (lots of fruit and veg, mainly) all increase sperm quality.

And if you want to go further, IUI using selected sperm, rather than letting nature take its course can also lower the risks associated with advanced paternal age.

ChristmaslightsuptilJanuary · 19/11/2025 17:25

Anonna123 · 19/11/2025 15:28

Do you know the stats on this? Because I've read up on it too and it's hardly "far greater". For example, three times as likely to cause something with a 1% chance is still only a 3% chance. Which means a 97% chance of things being fine. Autism and schizophrenia both have genetic links and it's more likely that this runs in families rather than due to old sperm.

This is the bottom line (my job involves assessing pregnancy risks)

Calliopespa · 19/11/2025 17:27

ChristmaslightsuptilJanuary · 19/11/2025 17:25

This is the bottom line (my job involves assessing pregnancy risks)

Yes. Lots of the statistics are presented to make it look more dramatic than it is ( eg; 3x rather than from 1 percent to 3 percent.

Anonna123 · 19/11/2025 17:37

Calliopespa · 19/11/2025 17:27

Yes. Lots of the statistics are presented to make it look more dramatic than it is ( eg; 3x rather than from 1 percent to 3 percent.

Exactly. This is something I've researched pretty extensively as someone with an ASD history on both our sides, although neither my husband or I are affected, our eldest is on the spectrum (high functioning) and we're just about to TTC number 3 as older parents (just over 40). A few risk factors but I'd imagine age is the least of them.

One study I read said the following:
Even so, the absolute chance of having a child with autism is low even for the oldest parents. The researchers in the 2017 study calculated that about 1.5 percent of children born to parents in their 20s will have autism, compared with about 1.58 percent of children born to parents in their 40s.

OneBookTooMany · 19/11/2025 17:39

Dollymylove · 19/11/2025 16:11

Hes 44 not 84!! men have been known to become fathers in their 80s......
(Although im not convinced there hasn't been a little "help") 🤣🤣

My mum used to say, " Never trust a man until he's three days dead and even then, proceed with caution" 😃

EdinaGeorgina · 19/11/2025 17:40

Dontlletmedownbruce · 19/11/2025 15:48

OPs post says the chance of autism is higher with an older man, is this true? I've never heard this before. I can't imagine this is correct, there are endless debates about the cause of autism and I don't ever remember hearing it's because of parental age.

Yes - it’s fairly well-known but plenty of older Dads have non-autistic children
https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-024-02184-9

A assessment of the effects of parental age on the development of autism in children: a systematic review and a meta-analysis - BMC Psychology

Objective There has been conflicting evidence in earlier research on the association between parental age and autism risk. To clarify this association, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of observational studies. The primary objective of this s...

https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-024-02184-9

Gair · 19/11/2025 17:46

mashandgravy · 19/11/2025 16:32

You do know sperm is produced by the male body daily, right?

While sperm is produced daily, spermatogenesis (that's the whole sperm production cycle) actually takes up to 2.5 months. Therefore, if you want to conceive using the best quality sperm, changes (no alcolol, no smoking, no drugs, better diet, excercise, supplements etc) have to be implemented for 6 months before TTC to be sure you're getting the 'new and improved' sperm.

I attach this for anyone that finds it useful:
https://www.uhb.nhs.uk/media/5jmltjog/pi_pathology_improving-sperm-quality.pdf

I'd say they are being conservative (realistic?) with some of the suggestions e.g. reduce instead of avoid alcohol etc. No amount of alcohol is beneficial to improving sperm quality, so cut it out if you're serious. I used to live in China, and it was very common for men we knew to give up alcohol for 6 months before TTC, and keep that up until wife was pregnant. At the time there was still a one child policy, so prospective parents generally tried to improve their health before taking this step - women as well.

https://www.uhb.nhs.uk/media/5jmltjog/pi_pathology_improving-sperm-quality.pdf

BeAppleNow · 19/11/2025 17:58

shepherd00 · 19/11/2025 16:39

Sperm quality decreases with age, it does not matter when it is produced and after 35 has more DNA abnormalities. Quite scary how so many people don’t know this.

Male sperm quality and quantity degrades slowly from mid 30s onwards

female fertility and egg quality degrades much more rapidly from mid 30s onward unfortunately

pocketpairs · 19/11/2025 18:01

45 isn't ancient, but does carry a marginally higher risk. I guess the bigger challenges may be physical, your DH potentially not being able to do 'normal' things with his child such as play football or people assuming that's he's the grandfather.

Coffeeandbooks88 · 19/11/2025 18:10

Bekcee7 · 19/11/2025 16:30

You do know that your child may be born with autism regardless, right…? There are no guarantees. If having a perfect baby is a deal breaker for you, you may need to reconsider parenthood altogether…

My kids are via IVF as we both had issues. I am nearly 39 and he is 54. My son is probably autistic. We did manage a natural pregnancy a couple of years ago but had a miscarriage. Yes autism is more likely, miscarriage is more likely but don't let you out that off. Most children are healthy. I possibly would think about IVF though as he might have sperm that dies quick for example.

Sadcafe · 19/11/2025 18:16

He’s 44 not 94

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