Ignore Al Pacino – experts tell career-focused men to try for a family by 35

Career-focused men have been warned they are almost as much at risk as women if they leave it too late to start a family.

Despite Al Pacino, 83, and Robert De Niro, 80, becoming dads again, fertility experts advise men to start trying for a baby by 35.

‘We always hear about career women ignoring ticking biological clocks but this is just as much a problem in men,’ said Prof Allan Pacey of Manchester University, co-author of a new study.

‘Men are not committing to becoming fathers because they aren’t ready to get off the work treadmill, or think they need to earn a certain amount of money.

‘Men’s careers are also stopping them from putting enough time into having sex frequently, making it less likely they will get their partner pregnant.’

Never too late: Al Pacino, 83 had a son, Roman, with girlfriend Noor Alfallah, 29, in June

The study, in the journal Nature Reviews Urology, warns men who start trying for a baby after 40 that their poorer sperm quality can raise the risk of miscarriage.

If they are over 50, their babies are at a higher risk of autism and schizophrenia.

Pacino had a son, Roman, with girlfriend Noor Alfallah, 29, in June and De Niro had a daughter, Gia, with his girlfriend Tiffany Chen, 45, in April.

Robert de Niro, 80, and his girlfriend Tiffany Chen , 45, welcomed their first child together in April, marking the seventh time Robert became a father