Husband's age and fertility?

[Ask4joy]

Hi ladies - I'm not yet 35. I'll be 34 in a couple of months. My husband is 47. He has 2 children, ages 12 and 13, from his previous marriage. We have been TTC for 4 months now. My ovarian reserve is good (FSH=8.4 / AMH = 3.0). I have pretty regular cycles (26-30 days) and have never missed one. I started temping 3 months ago and have confirmed O with temp shift. Luteal phase is 12 days.

Anyway, I just read a scary article on WebMD about men's fertility drastically declining after age 45 and it sited some statistic about it taking men over 45 an average of 26 months to get a woman pregnant. What?!

Here's the article: https://www.m.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20030626/male-biological-clock-ticking-too

My husband is in great shape, *looks* 35 and has already had 2 children but now I'm starting to worry. His testosterone is on the low end of normal and his cholesterol is just above the normal range (genetic as you would never guess looking at him and he says its always been slightly high).

At this point do you think he should have a SA done? I know it's only been 4 months but we want to have 2-3 children together and we aren't getting younger! We both thought it would happen right away (like everyone does)! I should mention he got his ex pregnant 1st try both times, although she was in her late 20s at the time and he was in his early 30s.

 

[CaliDreaming]

Yes I would definitely have a sperm analysis done as soon as possible. Although men's fertility does decline, the good news is that the decline is reversible with lifestyle changes and supplements. When there are problems on the men's end, they are often an easy fix and will save you a lot of money and heartache if you address them right away. If everything is hunky dory, then at least you've ruled it out.

The good thing about your case is that your hubby has been able to get someone pregnant not too long ago so as long as there haven't been any major injuries or illnesses chances are good that he could get you pregnant too.

 

[Katie Potatie]

My hubby had children from a previous marriage no problem, I was 32 and 37 when I had our kids and hubby was 47 and 52. It certainly took longer to get pregnant but I think it was more due to my age (particularly, the second) than perhaps him. He never had a SA done, as I ended up getting pregnant before we made the appt., which we were set to do.

However, I don't think it is a bad idea to have it done and see if there are any issues. But since he had children before, there's probably not a huge issue with his sperm.

Best of luck in your TTC journey!

 

[Katie Potatie]

I should add, my husband is not terribly athletic or anything, but also not unhealthy. He has high natural cholesterol and high blood pressure that he takes medication for to keep under control, but you wouldn't guess it to look at him, as he is not overweight at all. Also drinks a lot of beer, which is supposed to be a no no for sperm.

 

[Ask4joy]

Thank you for your input, ladies. He has agreed to get a SA done if I'm not pregnant after this current cycle.

 

[CaliDreaming]

My hubby had children from a previous marriage no problem, I was 32 and 37 when I had our kids and hubby was 47 and 52. It certainly took longer to get pregnant but I think it was more due to my age (particularly, the second) than perhaps him. He never had a SA done, as I ended up getting pregnant before we made the appt., which we were set to do.

However, I don't think it is a bad idea to have it done and see if there are any issues. But since he had children before, there's probably not a huge issue with his sperm.

Best of luck in your TTC journey!

Actually, the fact that it took longer for you to get pregnant suggests that your hubby's sperm may have been the problem, especially since he was 40+. When a man's sperm count is borderline or not swimming quickly, it can take many cycles before the sperm meets the egg. If the quality keeps falling, then the man won't be able to impregnate a woman at all.

It's also very dangerous to assume that because a man has had children before that there's nothing wrong with his sperm. My hubby had conceived 3 children with his ex before me. He got poor results on his SA and a referral to a urologist.

 

[Katie Potatie]

Wow that really interesting. Was it a long time between him having kids with his ex and having your children?

 

[CaliDreaming]

Yeah it had been 9 years for him when we started TTC our first. When we had trouble, I also assumed that I was the problem since he had had kids before and I was over 35 but it turned out my labs were excellent. If we had just focused on him from the get go we could have saved a lot of time, money and anguish

 

[Ask4joy]

That's interesting Cali. When I saw my doc last week and asked about SA she said it was probably unnecessary due to him fathering to children not "too long" ago (they are 12 and 13).