Parenting Blog

You may not be aware but there are a lot of diseases which you may unknowingly transfer to your baby. These are genetic diseases that some families are prone to and pass from one generation to other. You can prevent your baby from these genetic disorders by taking the help of genetic counseling. It determines the risks and chances that you may pass on some inheritable diseases to the baby. A genetic counselor may help you in identifying the risks, investigating the problems, interpreting the disorder and related issues, analyzing the risk recurrence patterns and may guide you through the available options.

According to the CDC around three percent of the babies are born with birth defects in United States. Although in most of the cases Genetic Counseling is not mandatory but couples should consider if they encounter one or more of the below mentioned risks:

• Prenatal Tests Reveal Certain Abnormalities
• The results of an Amniocentesis indicate chromosomal disorders
• If a close family member is observed to have a genetic disorder
• Already have had a child with inherited
• If the mother is 35 years or more

Apart from these there are also some ethnic groups that are more susceptible to certain genetic disorders. Sickle Cell Anemia is more common in African Americans, Tay – Sachs disease is mostly found in Central or Eastern Jews and similarly percentage of cases with Thalassemia are more with Italian, Greek and Middle Eastern people.

When you indulge yourself in genetic counseling the most important way of assessing genetic risk is to look around and comprehensively study the blood relatives of both mother and father for genetic disorders. You should notice the how close is the person who suffered a disorder and the reason behind the occurrence of the disease. Some of the common questions the doctors ask to avoid the chances of a genetic disease are:

• Do you observe diseases like hypertension, diabetes and cancer in your family
• Do you have a history of twins in your family or other disorders like muscular dystrophy, hemophilia or cystic fibrosis
• Do you have mentally challenged people in your family
• Does any of your cousins, brothers and sisters have encountered any complications during their pregnancies
• Which ethnic background you belong to
• Do you suspect your baby to born with any birth defects and if yes what are the reasons behind your thinking

With little precaution and knowledge you can prevent your baby from lifetime sufferings from incurable diseases. Make it a point that you do not ignore even the slightest possibilities of a mishap and take this matter very seriously.