To think this is a weird question for a doctor to ask

[ReallyDoc]

Took my DS to A&E today. He had a seizure. Second one he's had. They say nothing to worry about as its febrile seizure and related to him having a high temp and he shluld grow out of them. When DS woke up he was very sleepy I mean he's three and just had a seizure so..he was very quiet.

Anyway the A&E doctor asked a bunch of questions and then discharged us happy DS is fine. One of these questions was "are you and DP (e.g. DS dad) related by blood?". I was like "good god of course not" and he laughed a bit and it was all fine

But now I can't sleep analysing why he asked that. Does he think there looks like there is something genetically off with my kid? What the hell is he suggesting? Or is this a normal question to ask???

I once taught two seven year old best friends (mums were also best friends). The boy and girl were born about a week apart. Turns out they had the same father. I'm pretty sure one of the mums wasn't aware of this

Pretty sure that’s not legal, at least in the UK.

This question is on the admission form at our local children’s hospital. It’s a standard question in paediatrics

Standard question. One of the first questions I was asked when they were investigating DD1's unexplained falls (turned out to be epilepsy).

Yes like others I was asked this for both my pregnancies. Even though I am a different nationality and ethnicity to DH and very clearly so. Just standard I think.

Of 11,396 babies for whom questionnaire data were available, 386 (3%) had a congenital anomaly. Rates for congenital anomaly were 305·74 per 10,000 livebirths, compared with a national rate of 165·90 per 10,000. The risk was greater for mothers of Pakistani origin than for those of white British origin (univariate RR 1·96, 95% CI 1·56-2·46). Overall, 2013 (18%) babies were the offspring of first-cousin unions. These babies were mainly of Pakistani origin--1922 (37%) of 5127 babies of Pakistani origin had parents in first-cousin unions

Sheridan E, Wright J, Small N, Corry PC, Oddie S, Whibley C, Petherick ES, Malik T, Pawson N, McKinney PA, Parslow RC. Risk factors for congenital anomaly in a multiethnic birth cohort: an analysis of the Born in Bradford study. Lancet. 2013 Oct 19;382(9901):1350-9. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61132-0. Epub 2013 Jul 4. PMID: 23830354.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23830354/

Participating families live predominantly in three health districts of Birmingham, and were recruited in three local maternity hospitals. PARTICIPANTS--Babies of 2432 European mothers, 509 Afro-Caribbean mothers, 625 Indian mothers, 956 Pakistani mothers, and 216 Bangladeshi mothers have been enrolled in the study…The highest prevalence of parental consanguinity was in Pakistani Muslims (69%), whereas in Muslims from other countries it was 23%, and it was less than 1% in non-Muslims.

Bundey S, Alam H, Kaur A, Mir S, Lancashire RJ. Race, consanguinity and social features in Birmingham babies: a basis for prospective study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1990 Jun;44(2):130-5. doi: 10.1136/jech.44.2.130. PMID: 2370500; PMCID: PMC1060620.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1060620/

There's reference to a TV programme here.

Dyer O. MP is criticised for saying that marriage of first cousins is a health problem. BMJ. 2005 Dec 3;331(7528):1292. PMCID: PMC1298844.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1298844/

A very standard question and a necessary one, especially for Muslims and Asian communities. As previous posters have said, the stats are worryingly high for cousin marriages in some communities.

I was asked that at all my pregnancy booking appts. It's to rule out certain recessive conditions.

You (and all of you relating this to the kid's looks) are misinterpreting what the OP means by "looks like" - she's using it to mean "does this mean there could be something wrong with him?" @Regularsizedrudy @NiceTwin @PeachCottonTree

It's not that long since it would have been considered quite common in many white British communities too. You hear all the jokes about marrying relations in rural areas for a reason- my dh's aunt was married to her first cousin, although they never had children and I'm not sure if that's why. It was also common in upper class/ royal circles not that long ago.

I know times have mostly changed in both cases but just saying it's not really specific to any community, but something that has happened a lot. It makes sense to have a record for medical purposes just as much as when to ask you About family history of different illnesses.

If you are related by blood anything stronger than 2nd cousins then there's a much stronger chance you'll develop a genetic disorder and this could absolutely present as a seizure. The doctor was just being thorough. It's more common than you think for cousins to marry especially in certain Asian cultures

It’s a standard question required with certain symptoms as an excluder for certain potential conditions. No reason to be personally offended.

i once asked someone and the answer was yes, and they gave the relationship. I said it was almost certainly the cause of the underlying issue with their child. They seemed surprised and said who knew and that people should be told this🤯. Uhhhmm, okay. Tbh nothing ever surprised me though and every day was a circus.

Even as a parent I was in the pre-op waiting area once with one of my kids and another parent there was making conversation. They told me their child was having additional digits removed and had some other issues and went on to say ‘they told me it was because DH and I are related, can you believe that’. Uhhhmm, yes.

My stepson is married to his first cousin. Their child had hip dysplasia, common in dogs with a shared bloodline.

That would be nicest and if what she said was true then you should have asked if she was being abused.

Cousin marriage in Hindu families is common in south India, but not in other regions.

I think we’re avoiding the reality if we try to cover up the fact it’s very common in British Muslim families from certain Asian countries.

Its also the norm where I live though the government is discreetly trying to change it by running campaigns but for now pre marital genetic testing and counseling is on offer and more and more youngsters now marry outside of their family.

Our family friend was sent to a particular area in the UK for further specialized pediatric training because the genetic conditions she’d experience there that were caused by intern family marriages were also what she would see here.

Incest. Sorry. What a horrible typo. 🙈

I’ve definitely been asked this before, can’t remember the context but it’s happened at a hospital appointment for at least one for my DC

Anyone else had to look up consanguinity?

Standard medical question, OP - no one was implying you’re some hick from Deliverance

www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/life-sciences

"Based in east London, we provide access to expertise and resources at the one of the largest NHS Trusts in the UK, with the global gene pool on our doorstep."

The choice of Whitechapel is not accidental, plenty of cases to study locally sadly.

@QuestionableMouse how would a child look who is inbred then?
Surely the op would have had worries prior to this if he didn't look "normal".

Thank you for your helpful comments. I certainly was naive to how common it is. Also it was nearly midnight and I'd been in hospital with my DS all day so exhausted and brain overthinking every question and thing that happened

DS had a 20 - 25 min seizure (took that long for ambulance to get there) and then gave him drugs to get him out of it. Then just been in hospital while they test bloods etc. He had a high temp so they're confident it's febrile but they were concerned about length of seizure. Not sure if follow up.

Just never been asked that question before. But can see this morning was being silly to analyse it or take it as personal

Check out the history of the Hapsburg Royalty in Spain and Austria. They married their cousins/nieces/uncles for generations and some of them had epilepsy (one couldn’t consummate his marriage and had 5 seizures on his wedding night), massive jaws and foreheads, couldn’t walk or chew their food etc.

I work with children with additional needs of all kinds and the primary reason for their needs in the vast majority of cases is consanguinity. In many cases, the child is one of several siblings who all have similar needs.