Professor challenges 55-year limit on fertility treatment

Men aged 55 and over will no longer be referred for publicly funded fertility treatment in Denmark, a decision challenged by development psychology professor Jesper Dammeyer. Speaking to DR, he said older fathers were not necessarily worse parents.

Danske Regioner, the association of Denmark’s regions, introduced the upper age limit for men seeking help to have children with their partners. It has cited concerns that a parent’s advanced age can affect a child’s wellbeing and upbringing, as well as the risk of the child losing their father before reaching adulthood.

“Research actually shows that we become better parents as we get older,” said Dammeyer, a professor at the University of Copenhagen who has researched child development. “We become calmer, gain more experience and generally have more resources.”

He said the decision was based more on a cultural norm about when people should become parents than on evidence of older fathers’ parenting abilities. Dammeyer argued that a meaningful change in their ability to care for a child would occur only at a much higher age, around 80.

“It matters more to have good parents than to have them for a very long time,” he said, while acknowledging that having a very old father involves several health risks for the child.

In a note sent to DR News, Danske Regioner cited research indicating that children and young people who lose their fathers have about a 50 percent higher risk of developing psychiatric disorders than those who do not.

The note also said data from Statistics Denmark showed that if a father is 55 when a child is born, there is an 8.6 to 16.5 percent risk that he will die before the child turns 18.

It further cited research linking men aged 55 to 60 with slightly increased risks of genetic mutations, pregnancy complications, reduced fertility, schizophrenia and autism. These factors can affect the chances of a successful pregnancy and the child’s long-term health.