Nov 24 • General discussion
🤰🏼Fertility & Age: what’s true, what’s myth
⚡ “younger women always have better offspring”, "you must be young to have kids"⚡
The fertility myth we grew up with and what science tells us
Let’s dismantle one of the strongest societal beliefs:
“The younger the woman is, the healthier the baby.”
It’s everywhere — in medicine, culture, family pressure.
But modern research shows a much more nuanced truth.
It’s everywhere — in medicine, culture, family pressure.
But modern research shows a much more nuanced truth.
💣 1. Women’s eggs are not time bombs
A groundbreaking study published in 2025 (Arbeithuber B. et al., Science Advances) delivered a surprising discovery:
👉 Egg cells do NOT accumulate mitochondrial DNA mutations with age (ages 20–42).
Key findings from this study:
- in blood + saliva → mtDNA mutations increase with age
- in oocytes → mutation load stays low and stable
- eggs had 17–24× fewer mtDNA mutations than somatic tissues
This means:
Women’s eggs have a powerful protective mechanism that keeps mitochondrial DNA nearly unchanged for decades.
So no — eggs do NOT “decay” genetically the way we were told in school biology.
But…
⚠️ 2. Age Still Matters but for different reasons
The same study explicitly states:
👉 chromosomal abnormalities STILL increase with maternal age
This is crucial.
The stability of mtDNA does not mean:
- eggs do not age
- fertility stays the same
- older eggs are risk-free
What actually changes with age:
- ↑ aneuploidy (chromosomal errors)
- ↓ ovarian reserve
- ↓ quality of ovulation
- ↓ follicular environment
- ↓ hormonal regulation
So yes, age affects female fertility.
But not because “eggs fall apart.”
Rather because the system around the egg changes.
📌 This aligns with decades of reproductive research and remains consistent.
👨🔬 3. And the part society avoids: The man matters too
The myth goes:
“Men stay fertile forever.”
Science strongly disagrees.
Studies show that as men age:
- sperm DNA fragmentation increases
- motility + morphology decrease
- risk of autism, schizophrenia & some genetic conditions in offspring increases with paternal age
- time to pregnancy becomes longer
- miscarriage risk increases
📌 Sources:
– Xie H. et al., Frontiers in Aging, 2025
– Peterson C.G. et al., Human Reproduction Update, 2018
– Kaltsas A. et al., 2023 review on paternal age & offspring risk
So while society hyper-focuses on “female age,” male age also significantly affects offspring health and fertility outcomes, sometimes even more.
The healthiest reproductive picture comes from both partners’ biology, not just the woman’s.
So… does age Matter?
Fertility = age + hormones + biology + stress + environment + sperm health + lifestyle.
Age is just one factor, not the only factor and not the end of the story.
🧘♀️ What you CAN influence at any age
Studies consistently show huge impact from:
- stress regulation
- sleep quality
- endocrine balance
- inflammation levels
- metabolic health
- alcohol + smoking
- environmental toxins
- sperm quality (frequency of ejaculation, lifestyle)
- emotional wellbeing
- ovulation health & cycle tracking
⚠️You have far more influence than you were ever told⚠️
💬 What fertility myths did you grow up believing?
I will break down some of Im aware of in the comments.
- Irina
Clinical psychologist & sexologist
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🤰🏼Fertility & Age: what’s true, what’s myth
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