Italy wannabe dads 'older, less fertile'

(ANSA) - Rome, October 11 - The average Italian wannabe dad is 35 years old, and this makes him less likely to be fertile, medical sources said Thursday.
    As it turns out, men also have a biological clock reducing their fertility and compromising the quality of their sperm as time wears on, according to recent findings.
    "We're used to the belief that negative effects on human reproductive capacity - the so-called biological clock - are a purely female prerogative," said Rocco Rago from Rome's Sandro Pertini hospital.
    "However it has been scientifically proven that sperm function - i.e. mobility and morphology - also deteriorates as age increases. As well, the DNA the sperm carry is more and more damaged as time goes on," Rago said.
    A recent study on women in Denmark, Germany, Italy and Spain showed that women aged 30-34 are more likely to miscarry if their male partner is over 40 years old, he said.