Many professionals postpone parenthood to focus on their careers, but fertility declines with age for both sexes. Experts warn that early planning — such as egg or sperm freezing — can preserve future options before time runs out.
As people pursue purpose, passion, and personal growth, parenting plans are sometimes pushed aside. But while career goals can evolve, fertility doesn’t follow the same trajectory.
Specialists it is important reproductive potential is safeguarded before it diminishes. Men who want to father healthy children have been advised to start a family before the age of 40. Women who are not ready for motherhood by 30 have also been urged to freeze their eggs to improve their chances of having healthy children later in life.
Male fertility and age-related decline
Professor Oladapo Ashiru of Anatomy and Reproductive Endocrinology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, explains that sperm quality declines with age and could increase the risk of genetic disorders.
“As you get older, environmental toxins, foods, environment, diet, and occupation affect the sperm. Also, there is an increase in damage to the sperm DNA,” he tells Guardian Life.
He explains that the decline in sperm count, motility and morphology becomes noticeable from age 40.
“Biological changes with age, smoking, alcohol intake, unhealthy nutrition, and occupational exposure to toxins” all play a role in reducing male fertility.
His statement follows a viral post on X which claimed that “Older men are more likely to give you children with genetic mutations like dwarfism, autism, Down syndrome, and schizophrenia. Their weak sperm has a higher risk of causing mutations in kids. Try your best not to have kids with their sperm.”
Dr Apata Kehinde Omotola, a Consultant Urologist at the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute-Metta, Lagos, also advises men to take age-related fertility risks seriously. He says that although advanced maternal age is often linked to conditions like Down syndrome, older men are not exempt from reproductive challenges.
“Men are advised to marry early because the quality of sperm parameters reduces with age. Once a man is older than 50, the risk of having oligospermia (low sperm count) or azoospermia (no sperm cells at all) increases.”
In addition, prostate enlargement, hypertension, and sexual dysfunction, all common with age, can further delay conception.
“By 45 years to 50 years, sperm quality starts dropping, prostate diseases start coming, and hypertension. Some antihypertensive drugs may even lead to erectile dysfunction,” he says.
Findings from the Andrology Centre also confirm that while men continue to produce sperm throughout life, the quality and quantity drop significantly with age, raising the risk of infertility.
Preserving reproductive options
Experts say that sperm quality drops sharply in men over 50 due to low motility, poor lifestyle habits, and reduced count.
“It is better to freeze their sperm when they are young. Just as we also advise women in their middle 30s to freeze their eggs,” Ashiru says. “There is a decline in global fertility due to climate change, environmental toxins and exposures. The older you get, the more it accumulates.”
Barriers in Nigeria
Limited access to healthcare, including contraception and maternity services, in many parts of Nigeria affects long-term reproductive planning. For women, higher education levels and career pursuits often lead to delays in marriage and childbirth.
“By the time a woman reaches 42 to 44, the number of eggs she has declines significantly,” Ashiru says. “This is why we are raising awareness. Before a woman gets to that age, ideally between 30 and 35, if she is focused on her career and not yet ready for marriage or children, she should consider freezing her eggs.”
“Men also need to do the same and freeze their sperm early. Thankfully, today’s technology makes sperm preservation more accessible.”
Medical research shows that freezing eggs before the age of 30 increases the chances of a successful pregnancy through in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Experts say the earlier for both men and women, the better.
“Lastly, cultural shifts, urbanisation, career priorities, and changing social norms are creating smaller family sizes and more delayed parenting,” Ashiru adds.
For those who are not ready to have children now, doctors say it’s time to make a plan: freeze now or risk regrets later.
