Old Men, Healthy Babies

Old men have all the luck. They have the money, they're more attractive to women than teenage men are and now they even have healthier kids. One more reason why I don't miss my teens. I figure if I did get someone pregnant as a teen, I might as well have healthy kids.

I wasnt a drinker or smoker as a teenager, which you would think would better a kid's chance of a long life. New research says that may not be the case. Babies born to a teenage father are 22% more likely to die in the first month of life than babies born to older fathers. They were also 41% more likely to die in the first year.

While men in their twenties have been thought to have the healthiest kids, children born to fathers in their 30's through 60's had no more problems than those who had dads in their 20's. Teen fathers had babies that were 13% more likely to be born underweight and 15% to be born premature.

The study followed 2.6 million newborns over five years, comparing the health of the kids with the age of their fathers. The mothers were all nearly the same age. Possible reasons for the difference in health ranged from teen males producing lower quality sperm to older men being better providers, giving their kids a better start. Still, older men are more likely to have children with Downs Syndrome, while younger father are more likely to have kids with spina bifida.


Source:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-512724/Men-60-healthier-babies-teen-fathers.html