How would you consider the impact of paternal age on a baby?


The paternal age effect on pregnancy has always been a topic of debate. But studies do point to the fact that at the time of conception the age of the father does pose definite risks to the baby. In the midst of all this the scope of research in this subject has been fairly limited and the results have not been that conclusive as well.  But studies do point to the fact that if the age is above 40, then you expect a certain degree of risks outcomes as far as the child’s health is concerned. As part of the paternal age effect let us explore them in details.

  • Loss of pregnancy- if you have an advanced paternal age then the chances of pregnancy loss does increase at a considerable level. It would be before still birth or once you reach around 20 weeks of pregnancy as well.
  • Birth defects of the rare type- if you do have older paternal defects it could lead to the emergence of certain form of rare birth defects. It would be development of the heart, limbs or for the matter the skull as well.
  • Autism- research does go on to point a close link between increased paternal ages along with autism.
Studies do point to the fact that a majority of these changes could arise due to genetic mutations in the levels of sperm. This does tend to occur more in the case of older men than in case of the younger group. But whatever one has to point out the overall risk does remain small and it would be less than certain once you touch the age cap of 40 years. In case if you have reached the age of 40 years or really worried about the reproductive health, then you would need to discuss with your doctor.
There have been a lot of studies that have broached the subject of prenatal age. You could very well end up measuring something that has no relation to the age of a father. First and foremost would be the maternal age. For example, if the father happens to be older, then the obvious fact would be that the mother would be older at the same time. Any research that centres on this should view this and they do in a lot of ways as well. Coupled with this there is another area of research that is a subject matter of confusion. It would deal with the social development of the father. If you find that the development of a baby is low then the chances that the genetic development of the father would also have been on the lesser side. The obvious fact of the matter would be that he would have entered into a relationship at a later stage because of this. So for this reason the baby would have been had later as well. This genetic effect would be hard to figure out based on the age of the father.

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