Muscular Dystrophy - please reassure me!

[littlestar]

At 34 weeks pregnant I've just transferred to a different hospital and midwife. At my first appointment yesterday she asked me if there is any muscular dystrophy in my family and I told her 2 of my cousins (my dad's sister's sons) have it. (Unfortunately I don't have any contact with my dad and his family so I don't know what sort they have). She has referred me to a geneticist, but I'm now really worried in case there's a problem with my baby - especially as it's too late to do much about it. This hasn't come up sooner as my previous midwives didn't ask - and because I've lost touch with my cousins I didn't think to mention it to anyone. If anyone knows anything about this, I would really appreciate hearing your thoughts...

Little star,
Muscular dystrophy is a rare disease, but genetically determined. The most common ones are X-linked. So if your father does not have it, he could not have passed to you, and there should be no risk to your child.

There are a few that are autossomal, that is not on your sexual chromosomes. For those, you could be a carrier. BUt in this case, your child is only at risk if your husband have some history in his family.

It would probably be helpful for your genetic counsellor if you could discover what kind of muscular dystrophy your cousins have. But I really think you should not be too alarmed at this point.

If you would like further info on the different types here is a
link

HTH

Thank you Lua. I vaguely remember something about it being passed down through the mum but I've never managed to get my head round genetics! Your explanation has made it much clearer and I'm not panicking quite so much now.