At the prime age of 83 years old, Al Pacino and his girlfriend, Noor Alfallah, are expecting a baby.
Al Pacino to Welcome Another Baby at 83 Years Old
According to NBC News, Alfallah is already eight months pregnant with Pacino's fourth child, making the couple just a month away from welcoming their newborn. The "Scarface" and "Godfather" star already has three other children: 22-year-old twins Olivia and Anton, as well as 33-year-old Julier Marie. He had one child with Jan Tarrant and two children with Beverly D'Angelo.
Just last month, Pacino's co-star and friend Rober De Niro also had his seventh child, CNN reports. This makes Al Pacino part of the growing list of fathers who welcome children at older ages.
Older Fathers
Business Insider reports that though such cases are relatively rare, it is still possible for older men to conceive in their elderly years. This is in contrast with women, who cannot do so after menopause hits them at roughly age 50.
Arthur Caplan, medical ethics professor from the Grossman School of Medicine at New York University, explains that older men have been welcoming babies since Biblical times. Such a phenomenon is not new. He adds, however, that what was not understood before was that there could be a higher risk of problems that could come with such circumstances, as NBC News reports.
A 2019 study revealed that paternal age may affect offspring birth effects. For one, incidence of cardiovascular and urogenital abnormalities, chromosome disorders, and facial deformities tends to be higher when paternal age is higher.
These babies also have a higher risk for autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, cleft lip, and heart defects, according to the study.
The sperm of older men tends to have lower quality compared to when they were still in their prime years. This is due to the testicles being softer and smaller, decreasing testosterone levels, the sperm ending up disfigured and slower, and the blood supply to the genitals getting lower, WebMD adds.
Further research also suggests that a higher paternal age is moderately linked to the most prevalent childhood leukemia form and to a slightly higher risk of developing pediatric non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
A 2018 study also revealed that babies born to fathers who were at least 45 years old had an 18% higher chance of getting seizures and a 14% higher chance of being born premature. This was in comparison to babies whose fathers were ages 25 to 34.
While the medical community has not defined what advanced paternal age is, both the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the American Urological Association recommend that doctors talk to men who are at least 40 years old regarding the health risks that their offspring may face if they were to become fathers at such an advanced age.
Dr. Gloria Bachmann, women's health associate dean from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, explains that men should know that they have a reproductive aging cycle that is similar to women's, even if they do not undergo menopause.
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