Recessive Birth Defects
ARE CHILDREN OF INTERRACIAL COUPLES AT INCREASED RISK OF GENETIC DEFECTS?
It may make us wince with discomfort to hear such a controversial question raised. Sometimes people imply that I shouldn’t even bother responding to questions like this. However, I prefer to do so because I know there are some people out there who want to be or already are in interracial relationships, and have these sorts of fears, worries and concerns that they’d like express and hear others thoughts on, but can’t find the proper place, person or way to ask without being misunderstood or coming across as offensive. Sometimes it’s important to discuss that “elephant in the room” and spread enlightenment through the exchange of ideas. …show more content…
various studies including the one cited in this article show that children of non-related couples have a 2-3% risk of birth defects, while the children of first cousins have a 4-6% risk of birth defects), repeated inbreeding within a population over time will lead to serious defects that can cause the population to go extinct. That is because as inbreeding continues, recessive traits in the population strengthen. As the recessive genes strengthen, the population will produce more and more children who suffer from defects that once manifested only occasionally. If you’re concerned about your children suffering from genetic defects, it is not really “interracial” or “intercultural” you should be focused on. Instead, you and your future partner should both research your respective family histories to determine what genetic conditions have shown up repeatedly and/or consult with a family physician. If a disease shows up repeatedly in your ancestry that may mean that you are carrying a recessive trait for that disease. If both you and your partner carry the same recessive gene linked to a disease, there’s a 1 in 4 chance that the disease will manifest in a child produced by your union. However, since populations often differ from others in what diseases they are genetically predisposed to, it will be less likely for you to encounter someone from another continent who is genetically predisposed to the same diseases you are than it would be for you to encounter someone from your own continent who doesn’t share some of your recessive
It may make us wince with discomfort to hear such a controversial question raised. Sometimes people imply that I shouldn’t even bother responding to questions like this. However, I prefer to do so because I know there are some people out there who want to be or already are in interracial relationships, and have these sorts of fears, worries and concerns that they’d like express and hear others thoughts on, but can’t find the proper place, person or way to ask without being misunderstood or coming across as offensive. Sometimes it’s important to discuss that “elephant in the room” and spread enlightenment through the exchange of ideas. …show more content…
various studies including the one cited in this article show that children of non-related couples have a 2-3% risk of birth defects, while the children of first cousins have a 4-6% risk of birth defects), repeated inbreeding within a population over time will lead to serious defects that can cause the population to go extinct. That is because as inbreeding continues, recessive traits in the population strengthen. As the recessive genes strengthen, the population will produce more and more children who suffer from defects that once manifested only occasionally. If you’re concerned about your children suffering from genetic defects, it is not really “interracial” or “intercultural” you should be focused on. Instead, you and your future partner should both research your respective family histories to determine what genetic conditions have shown up repeatedly and/or consult with a family physician. If a disease shows up repeatedly in your ancestry that may mean that you are carrying a recessive trait for that disease. If both you and your partner carry the same recessive gene linked to a disease, there’s a 1 in 4 chance that the disease will manifest in a child produced by your union. However, since populations often differ from others in what diseases they are genetically predisposed to, it will be less likely for you to encounter someone from another continent who is genetically predisposed to the same diseases you are than it would be for you to encounter someone from your own continent who doesn’t share some of your recessive