Research: men also become too old for children

If you as a man think you still have all the time in the world to start having children: better think twice.

Because men also have a biological clock and an expiration date. That we women cannot become mothers until our eighties and that age plays a role in our fertility, yes, we know that by now, but more and more Dutch men are choosing to become fathers after their 45th. First work, first travel, first party, that idea. And that is striking. Because even young women who try to have children with a somewhat older man have less chance of a successful pregnancy, it turns out.

Especially when you look at IVF treatments. The chance of success increases if the man is also a bit younger and does not only depend on the age of the mother to be. If a woman under 30 tries to have a child via IVF with a man between 30 and 35 years old, the chance of success is about 73 percent. If the same woman tries this with a man between 40 and 42 years old, the chance of a successful pregnancy is only 43 percent. If women are a bit older than their partner, between 35 and 40 years old, and their partner is younger than 30, they also have a better chance of getting pregnant. But especially for young women, it matters how old their partner is with whom they hope to have children. So, men with a desire for children: do not postpone the moment of becoming a father indefinitely.

Patience is not always a virtue, as you can see. Of course, if the time is not right, definitely don't start anything. But if you both do feel like little houses, little trees, and little animals: go for it.

FACTS

• In the Netherlands, about 175,000 children are born each year
• The average age of a father when he has his first child is 34 years
• Women become mothers for the first time at the age of 29.4 years