The Biological clock ....
Dr Nandita A Thakkar
Tick tock, tick tock - a ticking biological clock.
In women, we understand the potential to reproduce declines, , a lowering in hormones, primarily estrogen, and the risk of genetic abnormalities is increased.
A similar finding is seen in the male partner. This was never really appreciated. As men get older, the sperm count gets lesser, there is lowered testosterone levels and this leads to a decline in fertility. The sperm from older men, which goes to fertilise and form a baby is also associated with more genetic abnormalities.
Some women conceive easily even upto the age of 40 years , where as many of the women find it difficult to get pregnant and seek medical attention in the early thirties and most of them look for medical help by 35 years.
Many factors affect the biological clock in women.
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A direct correlation is noted between waist size and testosterone levels. Thus we find, bigger the waist, the lower the testosterone level. Extremely thin is also bad – male partners having a B.M.I. of less than 20, have lower lower sperm count. Thus the ideal B.M.I. should range from 20 - 25.
Sperm DNA fragmentation is seen in the sperm in men older than 35, which decreases the chances for pregnancy or leading to miscarriage.
The biggest problem is that couples are waiting longer to have children. Young people need to be aware of this information.
Thus if a couple is both over the age of 35, there should be increased awareness that genetic testing is needed.
Freezing the biological clock:
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) stated that –“ there has been a marked rise in a number of women seeking to freeze their eggs for so-called “social” reasons (as opposed to medical reasons such as cancer