Father plays important role in future health of baby

December 17, 2009 by Shawn Douglas
Filed under: Baby Health, News, Pregnancy

A father’s lifestyle and age likely play an important role in the future health of his child.

When it comes to pregnancy, women get all the press. After all, they carry most of the burden, right? Media constantly tells pregnant women to avoid certain foods, keep certain habits and maintain certain routines.

But should the father be relegated to the sidelines? While most of the attention is focused on what the woman can do better her chances for a healthier child, most media gives little focus to the father’s lifestyle. Yet there have been many research studies performed on males, their habits, and how those habits influence the health of their children.

In a June 2009 article titled “Throw of the dice”, the magazine Cosmos addressed this issue. Emma Young, a science writer for the magazine, interviewed numerous experts and collected research that shows a father’s age at conception and his lifestyle before conception may have an impact on the health of his future child. That it hasn’t received as much attention is surprising.

Young talked to Dr. Cynthia Daniels, a professor of political science at Rutgers University. “It’s a function of gender bias that we haven’t focused more attention on the role of men in healthy pregnancy outcomes,” Dr. Daniels told Young. “We continue to see reproduction as the exclusive responsibility of women — and we’re reluctant to recognize men’s responsibilities as well.”

But men do have a responsibility, at least according to research studies. Young goes on to detail many instances of research that show men’s age and what they expose themselves to have impacts on children’s future health.

For example, Young points out research that finds that fathers aged 40 and older are twice as likely to have a child with schizophrenia as fathers under the age of 30. She points out that it’s not just one research study, but several carefully controlled studies. She also notes that Swedish researchers found that bipolar disorder was 1.37 times more likely in children born to a father aged 55 or older, compared to young fathers in their early twenties.

As for non-age related issues, Young highlights studies on alcohol, cigarette smoke, drugs and pesticides. For example, sperm abnormalities caused by a father’s heavy alcohol consumption may pass on birth defects to a child. Children may be heavier than normal if their fathers began smoking at an early age. Men who are exposed to pesticides frequently may go on to have children with increased cancer risks.

Later in the interview, Dr. Daniels tells Young: “If I were a young woman planning my family, I would consider not only the age of my partner, but also his possible exposures to workplace and environmental toxins, excessive use of drugs and alcohol, and cigarette smoking. And I would be quite angry that we as a society haven’t paid more attention to this possible risk of harm.”

Dr. Daniels’ opinion may be strong, but it still rings true. In a modern world where women are the primary focus of children’s futures, men’s roles in the development of a child shouldn’t be forgotten. Additionally, it should be noted that our environment affects our health and our genetics. Regardless of gender, what we put into our bodies and how we age affect our ability to procreate effectively. Man and woman are in the procreation business together, and the lifestyle and age of each plays an important in that business.

For Emma Young’s full article in Cosmos, you can find it here.