Can cousins have children without birth defects?

Contrary to widely held beliefs and longstanding taboos in America, first cousins can have children together without a great risk of birth defects or genetic disease, scientists are reporting today. They say there is no biological reason to discourage cousins from marrying.

What happens if your parents are first cousins?

If parents are unrelated, their chance of having a child with a birth defect or disability is between 2\% and 3\%. If parents are first cousins, the chance is a little higher at 5\% to 6\%. This is because of a higher chance that they will both carry the same autosomal recessive variant, passed down through the family.

Can first cousins have healthy kids?

The vast majority of children of first cousins are healthy and do not have problems due to their parents’ relatedness. It is important to keep in mind that even for an unrelated couple, there is an approximately 2-3\% chance that their child is born with a birth defect, genetic syndrome, or disability.

How bad is it to marry your first cousin?

Contrary to widely held beliefs and longstanding taboos in America, first cousins can safely have children together, without a great risk of birth defects or genetic disease, scientists are reporting today. They say there is no biological reason to discourage cousins from marrying.

Does having a cousin increase the risk of birth defects?

The researchers found that, on average, the children of first cousins in the Pakistani community had a 3.6\% greater risk of being born with a congenital anomaly than children born to unrelated couples, whose risk was 2.6\%.

Can first cousins have kids together?

TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Contrary to widely held beliefs and longstanding taboos in America, first cousins can have children together without a great risk of birth defects or genetic disease, scientists are reporting today.

Why is it bad to marry your first cousin?

They say there is no biological reason to discourage cousins from marrying. First cousins are somewhat more likely than unrelated parents to have a child with a serious birth defect, mental retardation or genetic disease, but their increased risk is nowhere near as large as most people think, the scientists said.

How common are birth defects if you don’t have any family history?

But if they don’t have any family history of an autosomal recessive condition, the medical geneticist would have to rely on risk estimates based on population data and general experience. We know (based on Victorian data) that approximately four in 100 couples will have a baby with a birth defect, which may be mild or severe.