The Male Biological Clock and Hollywood

The Male Biological Clock and Hollywood
March 16, 2010 by Rebecca

Hollywood not only affects the way women perceive their fertility but it also affects how men view their fertility as well. Following is a sampling of those studly Hollywood men who fathered children after age sixty:

David Letterman, at age 61
Donald Trump, 62
Sylvester Stallone, 62
Rod Stewart, 63
Michael Douglas, 64
Mick Jagger, 65
Hugh Hefner, 65
Paul McCartney, 66
Clint Eastwood 66.
Sir Michael John Gambon, 68
Woody Allen, 73
Charlie Chaplin, 73
Larry King, 75
Anthony Quinn, 81
Looking at this list, you would think that men have absolutely nothing to worry about when it comes to fathering a child. We have been raised to believe that any and all fertility issues have to do with the woman and her complicated reproductive apparatus. To this day, any and all talks about the “biological clock” are normally associated with women, not men.

So, what do we know about male fertility? We know that men are constantly making new sperm. What many of us don’t know is that as men age, the quality of their sperm age, too. The lower quality the sperm, the less likely they are to get a woman pregnant and the more likely it is that any pregnancies will end up in miscarriage. In addition, studies have shown that men of advanced paternal age are more likely to father children who are autistic, bipolar, schizophrenic and with lower IQs than their younger counterparts. Some studies have also noted increased rates of some cancers in children of older fathers.

Luckily, scientists both in and outside of the United States are finally paying attention to this subject and more research is being done regarding advanced paternal age. What amazes me, however, is that the word has not gotten out to the general public; not even to the more educated groups (who are the very people who tend to delay parenthood).

Unlike women, men do not talk about having children nor about their fertility. These are practically taboo subjects. For many, the only time these subjects come up is when they are actually being confronted with infertility within the confines of a doctor’s office. And it is during these times that it may just be too late.

So, if I ever thought it would be a challenge to educate young women about their fertility, could you imagine reaching out and educating young men, too? I find the task daunting. However, it just gives me an additional, and equally important, reason to wake-up every morning and write this blog.