World's oldest confirmed father was NINETY-TWO

And you thought Robert De Niro having a baby at 79 was old! World’s oldest confirmed father was NINETY-TWO

• It’s disputed but a man claimed to become a father at 101 years and 10 months
• But Guinness World Records say the oldest dad was Les Colley from Australia, 92
• READ ALSO: Robert De Niro, 79, reveals he secretly welcomed a SEVENTH child 

Robert De Niro announced this week that he has welcomed his seventh child at 79-years-old. 

The Oscar award winner has not revealed the name of his child or the gender, nor shared the identity of the baby’s mother. 

But the Godfather actor is not the oldest man to become a dad. 

In fact, despite the average age of a father being 33 in the UK and 30 in the US, the oldest father that has been confirmed by records was 92.

Although there is no maximum age for a man to become a father, it does come with some health risks, including risk of prematurity and low birth weight. 

Here, MailOnline reveals the oldest dads in history. 

Robert De Niro announced earlier this week that he has welcomed his seventh child at 79

James E. Smith 

The oldest father ever could be over 100-years-old. 

James E. Smith was a preacher from Illinois. He claimed to have a child in the US in January 1951 with his wife Anna Smith, 38, at 101 years old and 10 months. 

But his age has been heavily disputed.

Although he claimed to be born in 1849, other records show he may have been 15 years younger.

James E. Smith was a preacher from Illinois. He claimed to have a child in the US in January 1951 with his wife Anna Smith, 38, at 101 years old and 10 months. here he is pictured with his wife and children on his 103rd birthday

That’s according to a newspaper article from Southern Illinoisan on April 8, 1959, which suggests previous marriage records and his application for an undertaker’s license would make him around 86-years-old and 10 months.

This is still more than 30 years older than average age of a father. 

Ramjit Raghav 

The second oldest man to father a child is Ramjit Raghav, from India. 

He was awarded the title in 2010 when he had his first born son Karamjit aged 94.

But then in September 2012, at the age of 96, the pensioner and his wife Shakuntala, who was 54, welcomed another son Ranjit.

Mr Raghav, who has been a farmer all is life, said after the birth of his second son, that it was ‘God’s wish. He wanted me to have another son.’

However, there are no official records to prove that he was a father at 96. 

Ramjit Raghav pictured at 96, with his wife Shankuntala, 54, and sons Karamjit, 4, and newborn Ranjit

Les Colley

The oldest confirmed father in the world is thought to be Les Colley from Australia. 

That’s according to the Guinness World Records. 

The pensioner had his ninth child, a son named Oswald, to his third wife at the age of 92 years 10 months. 

He met Oswald’s Fijian mother in 1991 through a dating agency, when he was 90. 

Mr Colley lived a healthy and active life and died in 1998 from pneumonia, just four months before turning 100. 

Les Colley from Australia became a father to his ninth child at the age of 92 in 1991, pictured left, and Mahmoud al-Adam became a proud father to his 13th child at 92 in 2017, pictured right

Mahmoud al-Adam 

The second oldest father according to records is Mahmoud al-Adam, who became a proud father to his 13th child at 92 years. 

In 2017, the pensioner from the West Bank city of Hebron in Israel and his wife, 42-year-old Abeer, named their baby Tamara, according to the Times of Israel. 

The newspaper reported that Abeer, who is deaf, married Abeer after his first wife passed away. 

Julio Iglesias Sr. 

The father of the veteran crooner and heart-throb Julio Iglesias suffered a fatal heart attack in 2005. 

But just five days before his death it was revealed Julio Iglesias was set to become a father for the second time at the impressive age of 90. 

Spanish doctor Julio Iglesias Puga (died December 2005), father of famous singer Julio Iglesias, and his wife Ronna Keitt walking in Peniscola in 2002, pictured left and singer Julio Iglesias next to his sons Enrique and Julio Jose in Hawaii pictured right 

Dr Iglesias was a gynaecologist and his American wife Ronna Keith was 42 and carrying the couple’s child when he died in a hospital near his home in Madrid, the Telegraph says. 

The 90-year-old father had a legendary reputation as a womaniser and he was nicknamed Papuchi, meaning little daddy in Spanish, the newspaper added. 

He not only was the father to singer Julio Iglesias, he is also the grandfather to signers Enrique Iglesias, Julio Iglesias Jr. and Chabeli Iglesias. 

Bernie Ecclestone pictured at 91 with baby Ace at 21 months, behind the wheel of a car at Interlagos Circuit 

Bernie Ecclestone

The ex-Formula One mogul, Bernie Ecclestone was 89 when he had his fourth child, Ace, in 2020.

This was the billionaire’s first child with Fabiana Flosi, who was 44 when she gave birth.

The racing tycoon previously had children in 1955, 1984, and 1988 daughters Tamara, 38, Petra, 34, and Deborah, 68 from previous marriages.

Deborah was born to his first wife Ivy Bamford before he welcomed socialites Tamara and Petra with his second wife Slavica Radić. 

Speaking about being a father in 2022 he told the Sun: ‘Now I have more time on my hands and I hope I can spend it with my son as he grows up. I don’t know if we will stop here. Perhaps he should have a little brother or sister.’

What are the health risks of being an older father?

There is no maximum age that stops a man from becoming a father, but having children after the age of 45 does come with some health risks.

Men who have children later in life may be affecting the health of their partners and children, according to a 2019 study by Rutgers University researchers and published in the journal Maturitas.

The study reviewed 40 years of research on the effect of parental age on fertility, pregnancy and the health of children.

Researchers found that men 45 and older can experience decreased fertility and put their partners at risk for increased pregnancy complications and complications in childhood.

The complications included:

• gestational diabetes
• Preeclampsia
• Preterm birth 
• Infants are at at a higher risk of premature birth
• late still birth
• low Apgar scores
• low birth weight
• newborn seizures
• birth defects such as congenital heart disease and cleft palate
•  An increase likelihood of childhood cancers
•  psychiatric and cognitive disorders
• autism 

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