Older fathers?

[haveagoannie]

Hi,
How old would you say is too old? dp is 45 and we're thinking of ttc soon. If we are fortunate to succeed in the next couple of months he'll still be 46 by the time our baby is born. He's active and healthy but an ex-smoker (neatly 1 year since he gave up). Are our chances of conceiving reduced because of his age and the fact that he used to smoke?

I don't think 45 is too old (but then I've had my dds in my forties).there is some research that shows that older men can make it slightly harder to conceive,but it depends how old you are,and it may not be a factor at all.

Thank you for your reply. I'm 20 years younger than he is.

you'll be fine I'm sure. DH was 38 and 42 when we had our 2 DC's. Nothing at all wrong in that dept let me tell you! The same super sperm as when he was 23 and we go upduffed by mistake.............BTW I was 34 and 38 when getting pregnant with each DC, so an old set of ovum to boot.

Thank you for responding. That's excellent news. I think deep down I'm sure it'll be fine and reading about your experience was what I needed to confirm this. Exciting times!

My DH was older than yours when we were finally successful TTC.

Your age has much more to do with it than his.

There is some research (sorry I forget where it was from but sure you could find it online) that says there is slightly higher risk of a number of things including difficulty conceiving due simply to the damage that all of our DNA sustains over the course of a lifetime (exposure to various things), but it is very small.

Good luck! :)

Thank you Gomummygo!

:)

My dh was 50 (I'm in my 20s) when ttc Ds and he was conceived within two weeks of me stopping the pill we'll be ttc again soon and I'm hoping it'll be as quick again

Good luck!

DP was 42. Took one accident for DD to be conceived

Oh, and he was an ex-smoker as well (he's smoking again now )

oh you will be fine if you are so young-good luck!

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Can I tell you my embarrassing moment of the year? On entering the office of a man at work and seeing lots of pics of a cute baby, I said 'Aww, lovely - is she your granddaughter?' Do I have to tell you the rest? He's pushing 60.

Oh my goodness how mortifying! Hehe!

DP was 46 - it took us 1 month (mc) and 3 months (healthy DD) respectively. He also used to smoke but had been stopped a year when we started TTC.