Wil Saletan notes that a new study shows that men over 40 have far more trouble impregnating women than their younger counterparts. And it’s not just diminished sex drive and/or sex appeal:
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. New theory: Older men produce fewer kids because they shoot more blanks. Feminist takes: 1) Ladies, stop blaming yourselves for IVF failure. 2) Ask not for whom the biological clock ticks, dude. (For Human Nature’s update on instant male fertility testing, click here. For abstinence and male fertility, click here. For smoking and male fertility, click here.)
This isn’t horribly surprising, as our bodies become generally less healthy with age. Still, the conventional wisdom has been that, since men produce new sperm constantly, this particular issue was not pressing.
So, perhaps those of us over 40 (I’m 40-1/2) should be considered post-pregnant?
