1, how are the descendants of the elderly father?
The incidence of male infertility over 40 years old is high, and about 97. 1% of fetal genetic variation errors come from fathers.
Since the implementation of the "comprehensive two-child" policy, the reproductive risk brought by "elderly women" chasing two children has aroused widespread concern. The reporter learned from the Reproductive Medicine Center of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University that, in fact, there are health risks for "elderly fathers" to have children.
Studies have shown that men over the age of 40 not only have decreased semen quality, but also increase the risk of infertility, and their children will also increase the risk of childhood autism, schizophrenia, emotional disorders and epilepsy. Experts suggest that men should not "take their time" in the choice of reproductive timing, and it is best to give birth before the age of 40 or even 35.
Dad: The educational background is superior, but the fertility is weak.
Men in their fifties and sixties want to have two children, while men in their seventies want to have children with their remarried wives. After the implementation of the "two-child policy in an all-round way" this year, such stories have occurred repeatedly in reproductive medicine centers.
"There is a saying in society that' fathers are apt to have smart children'. It is believed that children born to older fathers will have relatively high intelligence. In fact, the public's understanding of this issue is not comprehensive enough, ignoring the health risks brought by the birth of older men. " Ou Jianping, director of the Reproductive Medicine Center of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, said that on the one hand, elderly men have rich social experience, mature mind and strong economic ability, which can provide superior conditions for their children's growth. In addition, some people have had the experience of multiple births and are more experienced in educating their children. From this perspective, "dad" does have obvious advantages in raising smart babies. But what is ignored by the public is that there is no direct scientific basis to show that "the older the father, the smarter the child".
On the contrary, there is a lot of evidence that age has a negative impact on maintaining male fertility and children's health risks.
First of all, under natural circumstances, the success rate of "old children" is not as high as people think. Ou Jianping pointed out that a large number of studies conducted by scholars at home and abroad show that with the increase of age, the testicular function of men gradually declines, and male semen parameters such as semen volume, sperm motility, sperm concentration, sperm morphology and sperm function all show an obvious downward trend, and the waiting time for pregnancy is obviously prolonged.
The results showed that the fertility of men aged 35-39 decreased slightly, and the fertility decreased by 265,438+0% ~ 23% every year after 39 years old. When men are over 45 years old, the waiting time for pregnancy increases five times, and the relative risks of couples waiting for pregnancy for more than 1 year and 2 years are 4.6 times and 12.5 times that of men under 25 years old, respectively.
About 97. 1% of gene mutation errors come from dad.
Many men believe that assisted reproductive technology can also be used if natural childbirth is not feasible. But the success rate of "old dad" as a midwife is not as good as that of a thin man. Even if the wife is pregnant, the risk of miscarriage is not low.
Ou Jianping said that with the increase of men's age, the possibility of sperm gene mutation increases, leading to negative effects such as embryonic dysplasia and abortion. Studies have shown that the failure probability of male IVF over 40 years old is 1.7 times that of male under 30 years old. Similar to women over the age of 35, men over the age of 40 are also a "hurdle" for fertility difficulties. The study found that when a man is over 45 years old, his wife is twice as likely to have a spontaneous abortion as a man under 25 years old.
Ou Jianping said that the bad habits of prospective fathers, such as smoking and drinking, may cause mistakes in gene replication in future generations, that is, genetic variation. Men will continue to produce sperm after puberty until old age. Because of the large number of sperm produced, the absolute value of gene replication errors is more. Studies show that about 97. 1% of the genetic variation error comes from the father rather than the mother. The genetic variation rate of fathers doubles every 16.5 years, which means that the older the father is, the higher the probability of genetic variation of babies.
The risk of stillbirth of boys over 45 years old increases by 48%
Ou Jianping pointed out that after excluding the mother's age, the children of elderly men are prone to hereditary diseases, and the proportion of congenital diseases such as stillbirth, low birth weight infants, premature infants, cleft lip and palate, congenital heart disease, congenital dislocation of hip joint, tracheoesophageal fistula, esophageal atresia, spina bifida and limb deformity has increased to a certain extent, and the risk of leukemia, central nervous system cancer, breast cancer, multiple sclerosis and obesity is also high.
According to the statistics of offspring born in the United States 1989-2005, compared with men aged 25-29, the risk of stillbirth of men aged 40-45 increased by 24%. For men over 45 years old, the risk of stillbirth increased by 48%, and the risk of low birth weight infants and premature infants increased by 19% and 13% respectively.
As early as 1975, it was found that four autosomal dominant genetic diseases were related to the age of offspring fathers, namely achondroplasia, pointed finger syndrome, Marfan syndrome and myositis ossificans. The average age of offspring fathers with these diseases is 6. 1 year older than that of normal offspring fathers, and these diseases have nothing to do with the mother's age and parity.
In addition, children of older men have a higher risk of mental cognitive impairment than young fathers. The study found that children born to men over 40 are 5.75 times more likely to have autism than men under 30. "This may be because the risk of gene mutation and chromosome breakage in male germ cells over 40 years old is higher."
In the fields of schizophrenia, major depression, epilepsy and bipolar disorder. The risk of children of old fathers will also increase. A retrospective analysis of 35/kloc-0 cases of schizophrenia of Han nationality in China shows that elderly fathers of Han nationality in China can increase the risk of schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder in their offspring, and males over 35 are more likely to have psychotic children.
Don't put off having two children until after forty.
Many women know that the golden age of childbearing is before the age of 30, while men think they can wait until after the age of 40. Ou Jianping suggested that before the age of 40 is the golden age for men to give birth, and the first child or the pursuit of a second child should not be delayed until after the age of 40. Older men should not think that their fertility has been "verified" and put all the pressure of having two children on their wives before they chase after having two children.
Many men will "close the mountain to facilitate afforestation" for at least three months before pregnancy, during which they will give up drinking and smoking. In fact, this is not enough. We should adhere to a healthy lifestyle, have a normal work and rest, eat reasonably and exercise moderately. Before pregnancy, both husband and wife should have a physical examination to fully grasp the situation of hypertension, diabetes and other related diseases. Men should check the quality of semen, pay attention to the cleanliness of private parts, don't soak in hot springs, don't wear tight jeans for a long time, and live a clean life to avoid contracting sexually transmitted diseases, so as not to damage the ability to produce sperm. (Reporter Ren Shanshan correspondent Jiang Lan Cha Guanlin)
2. Supplement nutrition during pregnancy.
1. Eat more foods rich in folic acid: Because folic acid is an important nutrient for the development of fetal nervous system, once folic acid is lacking in women, it will affect the development of embryonic neural tubes, leading to anencephaly, spina bifida, encephalocele, and also lead to malformations of eyes, lips, palate, gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system, kidneys, bones and other organs. Therefore, from the first three months of pregnancy, we must pay attention to supplement foods rich in folic acid, such as liver, wheat, milk, bamboo shoots, spinach, tomatoes, potatoes and fruits. To eliminate or reduce the possibility of folic acid deficiency.
2, often eat foods rich in iron: good iron nutrition in the first trimester is a necessary condition for successful pregnancy. Iron is a nutrient that can be stored, so it is necessary to store enough iron in the first trimester for use before pregnancy. In addition, many studies have proved that iron deficiency in pregnant women is related to premature delivery, low birth weight and insufficient weight gain during pregnancy. It is suggested that women in the early pregnancy eat more rich foods, such as animal blood, liver, lean meat, black fungus, red dates and so on. At the same time, we should also pay attention to eating more vegetables and fruits rich in vitamin C to better promote the absorption and utilization of iron.
3. Ensure iodine intake: iodine is an essential trace element for our human body. Iodine deficiency causes hypothyroidism and hypothyroidism, which affects maternal and fetal metabolism, especially the synthesis of protein. According to reports, when the iodine intake before and during pregnancy is less than 25ug/d, newborns may suffer from cretinism, which is manifested as mental retardation, deafness, sexual retardation, motor dysfunction, language ability decline and other growth and development obstacles. Therefore, in order to prevent birth defects caused by iodine deficiency, it is recommended to eat iodine-rich iodized salt at least once a week, such as kelp, laver, fish, shrimp, shellfish and so on.
4. Eat more foods rich in B vitamins: B vitamins can reduce the incidence of fetal spina bifida and other nervous system problems. You can eat more foods rich in B vitamins, such as yeast and cereals.
5. Eat more foods that can detoxify: Women should ingest duck blood, pig blood, chicken blood, marine fish, mung bean sprouts or soybean sprouts in their diet for the first six months of pregnancy, which will help the human body excrete teratogenic factors.
6. Eat more foods rich in high-quality protein, such as beans, eggs, lean meat and fish.
7. Fat intake should be controlled to avoid too much or too little intake. Too little fat will interfere with women's menstrual regularity; However, high-fat food will make women gain weight, and it will also cause menstrual disorder, poor ovulation and reduce the chances of pregnancy.
8. Don't eat caffeinated foods, such as coffee and tea. Because tannins in tea will reduce the normal absorption of iron by human body, it is easy to cause iron deficiency anemia.
9. Smoking and drinking are prohibited: one or both spouses often smoke and drink alcohol, which not only affects the development of sperm or eggs, but also affects the smooth implantation and embryo development of fertilized eggs in the uterus, leading to abortion. Alcohol can enter fetal blood through placenta, which leads to intrauterine growth retardation, abnormal development of central nervous system and mental retardation. There is also to stay away from the smoking environment and reduce the harm of passive smoking.
Finally, we should make good plans for pregnant couples, especially mothers who want their babies to be healthy. In order to give birth to a healthy baby, we should adjust our diet before pregnancy, absorb reasonable and effective nutrition and change bad living habits.