Is there a genetic risk in consanguineous marriage?

Question

Hi doctor,

I am planning to get married. My father got married to his elder sister's daughter, and my younger brother had cerebral palsy at birth. My sister has a low IQ, but she is manageable. In my fiance's family, her paternal grandfather is married to his sister's daughter. They have a daughter who is deaf. So please let me know if I can go ahead with this marriage proposal and have normal children without any genetic abnormalities due to the family history.

Please advise.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Cerebral palsy (a group of neurological disorders that affect a person's ability to move, maintain balance, and control muscle coordination) and a low intelligence quotient in your siblings need in-depth analysis. Both of these problems happening to consanguineous parents (parents who are related by blood) cannot be taken as incidental or independent of each other.

The deafness on your fiancé's side needs genetic evaluation, too. We will evaluate and fix the genetic etiology in those affected on both sides of your family. Based on the genetic diagnosis made, the recurrence risk for your offspring can be predicted. If recurrence is expected, we will guide you toward early diagnosis (testing the fetus during pregnancy) and other possible methods of preventing a baby from being born with an abnormality.

Kindly plan accordingly.

I hope this helps.

Regards.