Teenage fathers may experience more problems when having their babies, suggested a study by canadian experts in fertility published yesterday. Their babies have a larger chance of being born before time, have low birth weight and even die in their first year. Older fathers, 40 and above, however, do not face the same risks.

Dr Mark Walker, leader of the study, said this is a novel finding, and that it contradicts the common thought that older parents would be associated with these problems rather than younger ones. He said that this study can help recognize high risk pregnancies, and take actions to avoid any of the issues involved.

The research -the largest involving these questions up to now- studied more than 2.6 million US women in their 20s that became mothers between 1995 and 2000. Those newborns that had teenage fathers had a larger chance -15 %- of being born earlier than expected, were 13 percent more likely to have low birth weight, 17 per cent more likely to be small for gestational age, 13 per cent more likely to have a low Apgar score (a measure of newborns’ health), 22 per cent more likely to die within the first four weeks, and 41 per cent more likely to die within the first year.

Dr Shi Wu Wen, one of the specialists collaborating with the study, said that the mechanism that causes this is still not known, but that “regardless of the mechanism, you need to act because this group is in high risk, that´s for sure”.

Other studies performed previously actually show some results in that direction, stating that younger men have lower sperm counts and immature sperm which may contribute to birth problems. Other factors might be sociological: Dr Walker explained that “young fathers may not provide the same social support as older fathers, both financially and in terms of companionship. That may be why these pregnancies are more complicated”.