It used to be life that began at 40… now it’s fatherhood Rise in older Irish men becoming dads as young prefer to defer

RISING numbers of Irish men are joining the ranks of celebrities such as George Clooney and Mick Jagger in having children later in life.

Central Statistics Office figures show the number of firsttime dads in their forties rose sharply in the past decade, with 12% of new fathers in 2007 to 17% in 2017 – reflecting a pattern of men postponing having children until they are financially stable.

The figures also show a corresponding drop in fathers in their twenties. Some 23% of new dads were in their twenties a decade ago but this figure fell by a quarter to 17% last year.

Like many famous dads, Irish men seem to be happy to experience the joys of sleepless nights and changing nappies later in life.

Rolling Stones legend Ronnie Wood was 69 when he became a dad to his two-year-old twins, Gracie and Alice.

George Clooney famously waited until his mid-50s before starting a family. His wife Amal gave birth to twins Alexander and Ella when he was 56.

Fatherhood clearly hasn’t got old for comedian Eddie Murphy, 57, who welcomed his tenth child earlier this month when his Australian fiancée Paige Butcher gave birth to their baby son, Max Charles Murphy.

The CSO figures show that the vast majority of Irish men become fathers in their 20s, 30s and 40s. While they were only five dads officially registered as over the age of 65 to newborns in 2007, the number rose to 16 last year.

The number of new fathers aged between 60 and 64 went from 26 in 2007 to 40 last year.

Meanwhile, there has been a significant drop in the number of teenage dads over the past ten years. There were 708 dads of new babies aged under 20 in 2007, but this fell to 398 teenage fathers last year, or less than 1% of men who welcomed new babies in 2017.

Overall, the majority of dads welcoming new babies into the world last year were in their thirties – six out of ten, which has slightly increased over the past decade.

Meanwhile, Irish women are also choosing to become parents later than ever before. According to the CSO, there were 4,242 babies born to mothers aged over 40.

Of those, 3,933 were aged between 40 and 44, while just 309 were aged 45 and over.

Ten years earlier, there were just 3,096 babies born to mothers aged 40-plus, with 2,978 aged 40-44 and 118 aged 45 or older.

In 2017 the average age of a woman giving birth in Ireland was 32.8 years compared to 31.1 in 2007 and 28.8 in 1980.

While the potential health risks of having babies are well known for mothers in their late 40s, a new study published last month found that men who start families later in life should be aware of the potential health risks to their children.

Researchers at Stanford University in California studied health records linked to all live births in the US between 2007 and 2016, amounting to more than 40million babies.

The records showed that children born to men aged 45 and over had a 14% greater risk of premature birth, low birth weight and being admitted to neonatal intensive care compared with babies born to younger fathers. The study found that absolute risks remain low, but findings emphasise the importance of including men in preconception care.

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Potential health risks