If two cousins reproduce will the baby have birth defects?

Question

First of all don't attack me, don't "ewwwww" me, okay? lol I know some of my friends parents were cousins and other relatives that are married and had kids with cousins but they're babies turned out pretty well (i think) lol and I know couples that are not related at all and had babies that are mentally challenged and physically disabled. But honestly honeslty is there a BIG chance your baby will turn out bad? If it was really dangerous then Allah would have made it a sin, right? I think there are possibilities in all pregnancies....but is it a bad idea to get married to a cousin? Oh and I heard it's hard for cousins to reproduce?

Answer 1

It increases the chance of birth defects

From Wikipedia - BBC report[2] found that Pakistanis in Britain, 55% of whom marry a first cousin, are 13 times more likely than the general population to produce children with genetic disorders, and that one in ten children of cousin marriages either die in infancy or develop a serious disabil

Answer 2

well , 1st , i'm not gonna "ewwwwwww" u..

this is acceptable islamically , but some ppl consider it not acceptable , as most of the cousins r raised together , so consedered as brother and sister..

but this is wrong thinking , there's nothing bad for them to get married , and yeah there's a chance for them to have bad children , but now , the medicine is way developped and there r tests before marriage , so that they can be more sure and safe..

i hope u got my point and yes i agree with u..

always love & peace..

Answer 3

know quite a few people who married cousins and their children turned out fine. Allah did not make it a sin, but the prophet said that we should avoid marrying cousins, in case their children do turn out disabled.

Answer 4

Lol @ I think they turned out well!!

Allah (SWT) would have made it a sin.  

Answer 5

OK. Well I am chemist not a biologist, but I'll put it this way:

If a certain family has a genetic disease, like heart disease. And they marry within themselves then both parents will have the genetic for heart disease and thus increasing the childs risk of getting inherited heart disease. But All that means is that all the 'familial' traits are more pronounced when you marry within your family. It doesnt mean you will have deformities...unless your family already had the genetics for those deformities present..

Answer 6

yes first cousin marriages had most chances to produce baby with defect

only first baby

second is fine and normal

i see most of this cases in my  relative

Answer 7

I agree with the person above who said if both cousins come from the same family background where there are congenital diseases prevalent in the family. well then the odds are in the favor of having a problem in your children..

but if all is well, then no problem..

Ive always wondered this scenero though and no one has commented on it..

what if two identical twins, married two identical twins..

then the children of parents #1 married cousin from parents #2.. wouldnt since the parents are identical twins, their genetic make up would make their children closer than normal cousins.. almost like brothers and sisters... I wouldnt marry cousins from that scenero.. too close for comfort in my eyes....  

Answer 8

Congenital birth defects are more probable in the offspring of relatives.  The closer the relation the higher the risk.  Repeated inbreeding worsens the effect.  This resulted in a prevalence of hemophilia in European royalty, for example.

Answer 9

The question is whether or not this is the first time in the family that cousins married. If this is a first-time deal, the risks are actually quite low for any birth defects, but if the family has a habit of marrying cousins, then the risks start to increase.

There is more than one risk fact for birth defects, of course. Just because a person didn't marry their cousin doesn't mean their children are going to be defect-free. Women who have children at an older age (40+), people with a history of birth defects in their families...

Answer 10

Nope, my friend is one of 3 kids born from 2 cousins that married, not a single defect at all.

It is not what scientists say: "oh, u will have a 2.5 times% more chance of having a birth defected baby." Don't listen to them; they know nothing.

There's no such thing as "more of a chance."

Your baby will have birth defects if Allah wishes. Because He is the creator of all things and He decides how everything is created.

Answer 11

It's down to genetics really ----- if there are genetic defects or diseases that run in the family, then the baby has a higher possibility of being born with the defect or disease,yes!

It is best in relation to genetics to find a partner who is not related by blood due to the above------

However there are times that two individuals not related may carry the same defect etc-----but the chances are higher between relatives----

It's a short explanation, but hope you get the point

Wasalaam

Answer 12

The times that I've ever heard about this kind of situation: Which has not been many !!?!!... But the few times I have... It resulted in Emotional problems for the child .. & or retardation & perhaps some sort of :(de-for-ma-tion)  ;-'{  r`'R'`r

Answer 13

It is a bad idea because why would you do anything which might increase the chance of harming a child even 1%? It is better to avoid such relations.

Answer 14

Not in all cases. But in my opinion its disgusting. My ex husband had his uncle who was married to his cousin, they had kids, not so good looking kids, but they didn't appear to have birth defects. I think its better if someone did have to get married for them to marry someone who is not their cousin or blood relation !i

Answer 15

Not necessarily, but the chances are higher than if two non-related people have a baby.  

Say you're a carrier for some disease, but it's on a recessive gene.  This means you don't have the disease but if you have a child with a partner who has the recessive gene too, the child will have the disease.  If your partner is related to you, the chances are higher that he'll carry the gene (because he's in the same family), so there's more of a chance that your children could inherit the disease.

Answer 16

I saw an episode of 20/20 about cousin marriages and it happens among whites too. and as far as kids go in cousin marriages the chance of having abnormal babies is  2% higher than any regular Jane and Joe getting married.A woman over 40 has  4x the risk of having challenged kids then cousin marriages.  

Answer 17

There is no scientific evidence to suggest that cousin marriages will turn out deformed, retarded or handicapped children.  If cousin marriage was bad for you, then ALLAH(Subhanna wa ta'ala) wouldn't have made cousin marriage hala.  

Answer 18

Well my brother married a cousin............they got 2 beautiful kids..........no problem at all