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It is said that younger parents deliver healthier babies. But this new research, so far the largest of its kind, and published in the journal Human Reproduction, shows that teenage fathers present a higher risk of having ill babies, the issues varying from pre-term delivery or low birth weight, to death in or near the time of delivery. Oppositely, older fathers, aged 40 and over, did not have a higher risk of unhealthy babies. **** This stood even when the age of the mother or other negative maternal factors were considered.**** The team from the Ottawa Health Research Inst_tute, Canada, employed data from the National Center for Health Statistics for almost all the births (99%) in the US between 1995-2000 (over 23.6 million). **** The team adjusted the results for interfering factors (like race, education, smoking and alcohol drinking during pregnancy, prenatal care and the s_x of the baby). Children born to teenage fathers (under 20) were more vulnerable to early birth (by 15%), low birth weight (by 13%), small gestational age (by 17%), low Apgar score (by 13%) or perinatal death (within the first 4 weeks after birth by 22% and 4 weeks to one year after birth by 41%), but, overall, the risk of death was under 0.5%. Fathers over 40 did not present a higher likelihood of these birth issues. ***** The team cla__sified fathers in seven age groups, from teenagers to those aged 50 and over. **** Younger men are known to present lower sperm counts, s____n volume and percentage of motile sperm. Immature sperm are connected to birth issues, due to abnormal formation of the placenta in the womb. But social factors could also be involved. ***** "Young fathers are more likely to come from economically disadvantaged families and to have lower educational attainment. Socio-economic factors such as education and occupation are known to be a__sociated with a number of health outcomes. People from less affluent backgrounds are less likely to utilize prenatal care services, which is a__sociated with an increased risk of adverse birth outcomes. Other social factors that might play a role, perhaps by adversely affecting the mother’s health, include domestic violence, lack of financial or emotional support, paternal illicit drug use, smoking and alcohol drinking. These are more prevalent in teenage fathers, and previous studies have found a__sociations between paternal smoking and alcohol and adverse reproductive outcomes," said Wen.

Since when do fathers deliver babies anyway...?

LOL Franny!!