ByteOnBikesJan 18

NHS defends cousin marriages because ‘only 15 percent lead to birth defects’

https://discuss.online/post/34083202

NHS defends cousin marriages because ‘only 15 percent lead to birth defects’ - Discuss Online

Midwives have been told about the benefits of “close relative marriage” in training documents that minimise the risks to couples’ children. The documents claim “85 to 90 per cent of cousin couples do not have affected children” and warn staff that “close relative marriage is often stigmatised in England”, adding claims that “the associated genetic risks have been exaggerated”.

Show threadbus_factorJan 18
Lots of things lead to increased risk of birth defects, like having children after the age of 30. I thought it was pretty well known that the risks associated with inbreeding drops off pretty sharply at the cousin level? At that point I think the appropriate reaction is social stigma, but not legal ramifications.
Show threadHisArmsOpenJan 18
We are talking of a huge difference between risks to a child by parents over 30 compared to a clear 15% risk with cousins having children. The actual risks are higher where there are recent (parent and grandparents) who were also more closely related.
Show threadphutatorius
It’s not a clear 15% risk. The actual risk to an individual child is in the 4-5% range, compared to 2.55% for the population as a whole.
Jan 19 at 1:27pmWeb
Show threadGortJan 19
Isn’t that likely compounded if children of first cousins end up reproducing with children from first cousins, and so on? As a one-off, those figures might be the case, but could well increase if the practise is endemic.