about genetics

my daughter is 17 years of age..,we  are planning to get her married after some months or 1year.,at this age is it difficult to conceive..?  and we getting her married to my relative {her aunts son}....,will this cause any problem for her babies..,?   if like that are there any preventive measures.,to avoid illness and unhealthyness to the next born babies..? some doctors say that some blood test should be done.,in which we can detect wether the problem is there furthur or not..is it true?please inform.....

[xx_Louise_xx]

Isnt it your daughters choice to pick who she marries? Or is it like an arranged marriage or something? Her aunts son would make it her cousin... its a bit wrong. Maybe they're could be problems resulting in genetics being crossed or something. Its something u may have to research and spk to specialists about.

[xx_Louise_xx]

Here is found this....maybe it can help!

Actually, according to quite a few sources, having 1st cousins create babies amongst themselves has a very low percent chance of having their offspring with deformalities - despite what most people may believe. Throughout history, many people have inter-family marriages, usually cousins with cousins - royalty in the UK, royalty in China, and throughout various parts of the world. If marrying first cousins and having babies between them was really that big of a problem, then there would have been a very strong case of the royal families not having the ability to survive to this day and age. Of course, I am saying this from one angle.

Gene problems is as common in counsins creating offspring as in 'normal' unrelated people creating offspring. Don't just look at statistics, but also look at how deformalities are caused in the first place - eg: one leg is longer than the other, or one breast is larger than the other, or a finger is missing, or an extra finger is born, etc.

Miscarriages can be due to many things - alcohol consumption with the mother and the father, extreme stress, extra chromosomes or deformalities in chromosomes, other medical ailments. If you put in par with cousins creating babies with problems versus 'normal' people with miscarriages, you will find that the problems with 'normal' people outweigh that of cousins having children. Then again, cousins having children aren't as numerous as 'normal' people having children.

Please note that I am taking an objective point of view here. As with the previous thread on 1st cousins having sex with each other, people only gave one or two line statements, not really saying why it's wrong or not. It's one thing to say something is wrong and not explain why it's wrong, and another to actually take on all sides and come to a conclusion with principles, facts, and specific morals to back up your own statements. That's possibly one factor why many regular aunts and uncles don't contribute to threads like that, fearing the argumentative initiation of such comments.

[rumpled]

In the US, only six states allow marriage to first cousins and that is only under certain circumstances, that circumstance being that they will not produce children (they are older than 65). So if you are in the US, the union may not be legal.

The reason it is prohibited is due to genetics. Other countries do not have the laws.

[Dragon1973]

Hello Namu,  (I am sorry to get to your post so late.)

I understand your marriage arrangements, as in my family I have a very diverse culture also (in fact, my cousin is marrying a Sheikh woman next weekend)  .  It is helpful to know that as a previous post stated, there is very low incidences of genetic mutations caused by marriage to a first cousin, but as your family suggested, it is probably in the best interest of your daughter and her intended to have genetic blood work done.  This way, there can be certainty of any potential problems, and if there are, a genetics counsellor can be contacted.
Here in Canada, and many US states there are Marriage Acts which define who can marry who.  
In India:  For Muslims it is acceptable and legal to marry a first cousin. But for Hindus it may be illegal under the 1955 Hindu Marriage Act, though the specific situation is more complex. The Hindu Marriage Act makes cousin marriage illegal for Hindus with the exception of marriages permitted by regional custom.
Here is a reference:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cousin_marriage

I would definitely seek the advice of a genetics counsellor if you are unsure of potential problems with offspring.  To answer your conception question for your daughter because of her age, at 17 she will be very fertile, providing she herself does not have any fertility issues.  For that issue, you should have her speak and see a Gynaecologist.  I would recommend her to speak with her family doctor since her age is quite young in regards to reproduction.  Please ensure she is healthy and is able to reproduce without any gynaecological health problems.

I hope this helps you, I hope that you have not been deterred from using this site because of comments posted.  Please remember that when you ask questions on a world wide forum, often times if the commenter is not aware of your location or your cultures practices, they may not understand and may have some differing personal views on the practice.  If you have any questions that I can personally assist you with, please do not hesitate to send me a private message.  
Congratulations on your daughters upcoming marriage.  It will be a wonderful event.

Good luck, and if you have any other questions that I can help you with, please feel free to message me directly.

Sincerely,
Sandi (Dragon1973)
MedHelp Genetics Community Leader;
Children - Special Needs Community Leader;
Down syndrome Community Leader & Ds Group Forum Founder/Moderator