57, is that to old to be a parent?

[smileygirl1995]

So I'm curious is 57 to old to be able to father a child....?
might any child have health risks....or as the male is otherwise fit and healthy and has a good sperm rate etc any child would be absolutely fine....? Have tried to google some answers but didn't come up with much info so thought it was worth an ask on here :)

Slightly off topic, but it often surprises me how many men cast their reservations about being an older father aside when they get the new younger second or third wife. I actually know quite a few men who have had children much older than 57 in circumstances like that. One of my friends was nearly 40 when he stopped being an only child and suddenly acquired twin siblings

@Fieldsofstars

There’s a whole host of genetic risks with doing this, not just autism, but cancer, cognitive disorders, higher risk of premature birth, still birth, cleft palete and congenital heart disease.

Sperm by that age would work yes, because men’s sperm always have that ability- but they’d be damaged. Which can cause a whole host of genetic mutations.

ivf with genetic screening might be an idea.

Really? I work in birth defects research and the only one I've heard about is autism, and then the data isn't really convincing

@Ethelfromnumber73

It’s still fairly new. Previously all research was focussed on older mothers and blame was put on ageing ovaries for most risks. New research suggests sperm older than 35 years old has a huge effect. So much so that in the UK IVF clinics counsel older fathers of the risk - I know as we received counselling before ttc DS. It’s a small risk and as OP is young may possibly be offset but the cancer / schzophrenia / Autism risks would of course still be tied to older sperm.

med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2018/10/older-fathers-associated-with-increased-birth-risks.html

Yes. Unfair on the child.

@GrumpyHoonMain that paper is interesting. It's quite compelling that the risks seem to go up incrementally in each older age group but def worth remembering that absolute risks still low. Also, data may be confounded so the effects might be caused by other things than paternal age, and the differences in birth weight and gestational age at delivery between the groups are so small that they are not really clinically relevant. I'm quite surprised this is being used as the basis for counselling in the US

Yes

Oh well, now you’ve explained further why not go to a sperm bank.