Having a baby is a beautiful, life-changing event. If you are planning to have a baby, it is essential to understand all the factors that can possibly have an influence on producing an offspring. Most of the times; having a baby seems to be challenging for many couples; if they are not going to get the correct information on this. Therefore, it is very important to have a piece of prior knowledge on that to avoid facing any problems. So, lets find the answer to the question “when are men most fertile?”
When we discuss pregnancy, we cite a woman as the dominant factor which affects pregnancy. But recent studies have proved that the age of the man also has a significant impact on fertility and childbirth. Talking about male fertility, knowing when men are most fertile is really important. Therefore, let us find out when are men most fertile, by understanding the reasons and all the logic behind it.
Understanding conception
Before getting to the main topic, it is better to get an idea on conception. Females undergo the menstrual cycle. This means a woman’s body gets ready for getting pregnant each month. Normally, a woman is fertile for about 12-14 days a month.
During this period, she releases an ovum that survives for only 24 hours. But a male sperm can survive for up to five days. This explains that if you have an idea to get pregnant, you should target the fertile time zone. That period is from two to three days before ovulation to about a day after. If you time it perfectly, you can achieve a successful pregnancy easily.
Hope you got a certain idea about conception. It is now time to find out when men are most fertile. Let us first discuss whether the age of a man affects his ability to father a child.
Does age affect a man’s fertility?
Of course, it does. It is one of the main factors that affect a man’s ability to produce an offspring. The age of a man is something that directly affects his fertility. The idea that the fertility of men continues well past the decline in that of women is not true. There is a shred of increasing evidence that the older the man becomes, the more his fecundity diminishes.
There are many ways in which the age of men impacts their fertility, both directly and indirectly. Let us now discuss each of them in detail.
Why does age affect the fertility of a man?
There are many conclusions of studies that based on this and those studies have revealed much important information regarding the connection between the age and the ability to produce offspring. This information is really helpful for anyone who is interested in studying reproduction. According to the studies; the time taken for the conception process gets increased with the age of a man. There are many scientific reasons for this. Few of those reasons are as follows.
One of the main reasons is that older men usually have more diseases. For example, we can see chronic health conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes that can negatively affect fertility among older men. The fact that sperm quality reduces with age is also a reason for this.
Another reason for conceiving to be more complicated and difficult as you age is the fact that the volume of semen decreases with age. Not only the amount of semen produced reduces, but the ability of the sperm to move towards the egg also decreases gradually starting at the age of 20. So, it can be shocking to know that men’s age affects more than the female’s ability to produce an offspring.
How can age affect the fertilization rate?
The age of a man impacts the rate of successful pregnancies and the fertilization rate. The reason for this is that even though older men can conceive, there is a high rate of birth defects and miscarriages. The resulting child will have an increased risk of DNA damages and genetic mutations. Abnormalities like genetic mutations and DNA damages result in an elevated risk of a child with congenital defects, psychiatric conditions and will increase the risk of miscarriage during pregnancy.
There is information to prove that the risk of a woman having a miscarriage is twice as high with a male partner over the age of 45 as it is with a male partner under 30. Surveys have shown that the risk of miscarriage was 27% more likely in women whose partners were over 40 years of age.
The reason for such defects
The reason for these abnormalities and birth defects can be because more of the sperm of an older man can have abnormalities in its DNA. That is a direct factor that lowers the fecundity of an older man. There are also indirect factors that cause this problem. Let us now discuss some of them briefly.
Problems with libido and erectile dysfunction are two main indirect factors that cause the fertility complications of men, with age. The common changes of older men like increase in weight can also affect the ability to produce offsprings of men negatively. These facts prove that although it is not impossible for older men to father children, conceiving becomes complicated with age.
Treatments for infertility with age
Patients can get the treatments for infertility relating to age to reduce the risk of complications. Although the age of man affects fertility as mentioned above, there is no maximum age that a man can conceive. So, it is better to get treatments to reduce the risk of the negative impacts on fertility. For such treatments, you will have to visit a specialist.
Paternal age and birth defects
Now we know that advanced paternal age is a reason for the increased risk for a variety of birth defects. Let us identify the birth defects that can be caused due to the advanced age of the father.
Downs syndrome
This is a genetic disorder. The cause for this is the presence of a third copy of chromosome 21. The symptoms of this disorder are an intellectual disability, delayed physical growth and characteristic facial features. Sheltered work environment and educational support treat such children.
However, when studying about the causes of this defect, a study done in 2003 revealed an interesting fact. That study evaluated more than 3,400 cases of Downs Syndrome and found out that the age of the father was a factor in 50% of the cases. This proves that the age affects the ability of a man to father a child.
Autism
This is a disorder that refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by social skills, repetitive behavior, and speech. Repetitive behavior is also visible in such patients. This is a developmental disorder. Developmental history and behavior is used to diagnose this.
An analysis of 2011 demonstrated something interesting about the cause of Autism. It revealed that the risk of conceiving a child with Autism is twice more likely by an older man over the age of 50 as a younger man.
Schizophrenia
Individuals suffering from Schizophrenia have abnormal behavior, decreased the ability to understand reality and strange speech. Counseling and job training can control its complications for a certain level.
A study revealed that men over the age of 30 were more likely to conceive a child with this defect. However, the greatest risk is associated with men over 50.
Bipolar Disorder
This is a mental disorder that is also known as manic depression or bipolar illness. There are two types of this disorder and the treatments for this disorder are psychotherapy and medications.
A study in 2008 revealed that older fathers tended to conceive children who developed bipolar disorder in early life.
Cleft Lip/palate
The symptom of this disorder is the opening of the upper lip. The upper lip may extend to the nose or palate. Treatments for this are surgery and speech therapy.
Now, as it is clear that the fertility of men reduces with age, you might be wondering when is a man most fertile. Let us find out the answer to this question.
At what age is a man most fertile?
There is no specific answer to this question. One way to answer this question is by looking at the birth rates of children born to different male age groups. According to such a study done recently, the rate of births is highest for men between 25-29 years old. There are many studies based on this section and in most of them, they give out the result through graphs drawn with birth rates with age of men.
On average, they have found out that if the man is 25 or less, it takes four months to conceive and if the man is over 40, it may take up to four 2 years or longer. And if the male is over 45, there is a five-fold increase in the time taken for conception. This clearly shows us that the age directly affects the fertility of a male. But is age the only factor which affects this? Let’s find out.
More about male fertility
We understand that there is a certain age range for a man in which he is the most fertile. Let us also find out the time of the day that men are most fertile.
Are men more fertile in the morning?
There are many pieces of evidence that prove that men are more fertile during the morning than any other time of the day. This is a very interesting fact. There are studies that show that the sperm count of a man is slightly high during the morning hours.
Scientifically speaking, the reason for this can be the high levels of sex hormones of men in the morning. This explains that it is a good idea for future moms and dads to wake up early. According to Dr. Daniel Kort, fertility cycles or conception cycles would more likely occur during morning sex. It also helps that almost everybody is active in the morning than in the evening or at night.
There is also a great advantage of morning sex for couples. That is, if the female has a relatively short ovulation widow, morning sex has the chance of helping them. So, that is not a bad idea after all.
Can seasons affect the fertility of men?
Unlike some animals, humans can mate and produce offspring at any time of the year. However, there is evidence that proves men usually have a higher sperm count during winter and spring, than the other seasons like summer. Anyway, there are not much information regarding this fact yet.
Other factors that affect the fertility of men
Age is not the only factor that affects a man’s ability to produce offspring. There are a number of causes that affect this factor of a man. Let us briefly discuss some of them.
There are some environmental factors that affect the fertility of men. Some of them are industrial chemicals, heavy metal exposure, radiations and overheating the testicles can affect badly for the fertility of men. Overexposure to these things can reduce the sperm production or the function of the sperm and therefore reduce the fecundity of a man. It is better to avoid such things as much as possible. There are also some activities that affect a man’s ability to conceive children.
Drug use, alcohol use, and tobacco smoking can negatively affect the sperm count. Depression and weight also impair the ability to conceive children in several ways. Although the problems of fertility-related with age are not preventable, we can avoid the above-mentioned causes of male infertility. Therefore, it is best to avoid such things to reduce the risk of infertility.
Conclusion
Those were some information regarding fertility, the factors affecting it and the scientific reasons behind the conclusions. This article hopefully gave a clear answer to the question “when are men most fertile?” We are now able to understand that factors like age and time of the day affect the male fertility. These facts can help you to get a clear understanding of conceiving and producing offspring. Hope this helps you to clear your doubts regarding this topic.
