Often, women over 35 who wish to have a child are painfully aware of their biological clock.

A study reveals that the influence of the father’s age may be more significant than previously believed if they are utilizing IVF to conceive.

Analysis of nearly 19,000 IVF cycles indicated that the age of a woman’s male partner made little difference to her odds of conceiving, whether she was under 35 or over 40.

The live birth rate for women between the ages of 35 and 40 decreased significantly if their spouse was 40 or older.

The findings could contribute to the development of fertility guidance for couples attempting to conceive. They will also question the notion that the age of the female partner should always be the most important factor, according to the researchers.

Professor Geeta Nargund, medical director at IVF clinic group Create Reproductive and one of the study’s authors, told The Observer: ‘We must not neglect paternal age when educating couples about fertility outcomes.

‘A woman’s age plays a significant impact, but it should not be the only factor considered. Now we know that, for women in a given age group, paternal age influences live birth rates more than previously believed.’

Analysis of anonymized data from the UK fertility authority, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, formed the basis of the study.

It indicated that the live birth rate for women aged 35 to 40 decreased from 32.8% when the paternal age was under 35 to 27.9% when the paternal age was between 40 and 44. When male couples were above 55 years old, there was a 25% live birth rate.

The study, according to Professor Nargund, a consultant gynecologist at St. George’s Hospital in Tooting, south London, reveals that eggs from younger females can repair the substantially higher incidence of DNA damage found in the sperm of older guys.’ In addition, she stated that the potential ability of both egg and sperm to “repair the impacts of the aging process” must be better understood.

Kate Brian, operations manager at Fertility Network UK, remarked that the findings add to a growing body of information indicating that fertility is very much a male issue as well.