Male fertility generally starts to reduce around age 40 to 45 years when sperm quality decreases. Increasing male age reduces the overall chances of pregnancy and increases time to pregnancy (the number of menstrual cycles it takes to become pregnant) and the risk of miscarriage and fetal death.
In general, fertility starts to decline for men when they're in their late 40s, with up to a 23% annual decline in fertility beginning at age 39. One study suggested that conceiving during a 12-month period was 30% less likely for men who were over the age of 40 compared to men who were under 30 years old.
Like female fertility, male fertility declines throughout adulthood, but experts suggest that a man's age doesn't have a significant effect on his fertility until he's in his 40s, because there's only about a 1–2% decrease in sperm motility/morphology per year.
Age and sperm
Men younger than 40 have a better chance of fathering a child than those older than 40. The quality of the sperm men produce seems to decline as they get older. Most men make millions of new sperm every day, but men older than 40 have fewer healthy sperm than younger men.
About your age
Men can make sperm into their 70s and beyond, but the quality of the sperm declines as they get older. Men over 40 have fewer healthy sperm than younger men. If you are 45 or older, your partner may take longer to fall pregnant and is at greater risk of miscarriage.
A trained expert checks your sperm count, their shape, movement, and other characteristics. In general, if you have a higher number of normal-shaped sperm, it means you have higher fertility. But there are plenty of exceptions to this. A lot of guys with low sperm counts or abnormal semen are still fertile.
Peak male fertility is around 25-29 years old. Sperm quality begins to decline at 30. At 45, men begin to experience a significant decrease in semen volume. Older men can also take longer to conceive a child.
Your Chances of Getting Pregnant: 45 and Older
Success rates are between 0% to 1%, and most clinics recommend using eggs donated by a younger woman for those who want to conceive between ages 46 and 50. For a female in their mid-40s who wants to have a biological pregnancy, using a donor egg is the best bet.
Older paternal age may be harmful to the offspring's health in terms of genetic mutations, telomere length, and epigenetics [66]. Several lines of evidence suggest that epigenetic changes occur in the sperm of older fathers, particularly defects in DNA methylation [67–69].
There's no maximum age that stops a man from being able to have a baby. You can become a father long into your older years, but there are risks.
Male fertility generally starts to reduce around age 40 to 45 years when sperm quality decreases. Increasing male age reduces the overall chances of pregnancy and increases time to pregnancy (the number of menstrual cycles it takes to become pregnant) and the risk of miscarriage and fetal death.
Although a man's fertility can theoretically last until death, sperm production has been found to decline from around the age of 50. Although it is still possible to conceive a child, and many men do have children in their 50s or later, it may take longer for you and your partner to become pregnant.
Pregnancy after 40: Here's what to know. About 1 in 10 women will conceive naturally after 40, while many other women in their 40s get pregnant with the help of assisted reproductive technology (ART).
Menopause signals the end of the ability to have children naturally. While perimenopause precedes menopause, there is still a menstrual cycle during this time. The menstrual cycle might become more irregular, but as long as a woman is still actively menstruating, there is still a chance of becoming pregnant.
Men do not have a 'fertile window' because sperm is continually formed and stored in the testicles, ready to be used at any time. Graphic 1 shows when pregnancy is most likely to happen in people having sexual intercourse without contraception.
Men start losing their fertility at age 40.
In a study of more than 1,900 couples, irrespective of the woman's age, IVF attempts involving men 40 or older failed 70 percent more often than IVF attempts involving men younger than 30. Previous theory: Older men produce fewer kids because they get less sex.
Sexual frequency with ejaculation from 1 to 3 times a week is what we see most in the office in routine consultations with patients over 50 years old.
Pregnancy rates decrease with paternal age. Men will generally see a 52% decrease in fertility rate between their early 30s and their mid-to-late 30s. Time to conception. Compared to men 25 years or younger, men 45 years or older are 12.5 times more likely to take over two years to conceive.
Causes of male infertility
Abnormal sperm production or function due to undescended testicles, genetic defects, health problems such as diabetes, or infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, mumps or HIV. Enlarged veins in the testes (varicocele) also can affect the quality of sperm.
Can you still conceive if you're dealing with male infertility? As long as a man produces some amount of sperm, there's a chance he could get a woman pregnant. In fact, some couples dealing with low sperm counts or abnormal sperm are still able to conceive without any additional interventions.