Revealed: NHS calls for midwives specialising in inbred babies – as Labour refuses to back ban on marrying first cousins_Nhy
Midwives and nurses who specialise in genetic conditions caused by inbreeding have been deployed across the NHS to care for blood-related couples who have children.
MailOnline can reveal multiple NHS employers have advertised for several such roles over the past year-and-a-half, some offering salaries of about £50,000.
It comes as the devastating health consequences of cousin marriages was highlighted in the House of Commons this week, amid the launch of a new Bill that aims to ban the practice.
The former Conservative minister Richard Holden, who has tabled the Private Member’s Bill, said such unions have been linked to a higher rate of birth defects.
‘Studies show that it is associated with approximately double the rate of birth defects compared to the general population and can reinforce negative structures and control women,’ he told The House of Commons.
However, some MPs defended the practice. Independent Iqbal Mohamed, claimed such unions could ‘build family bonds’ and put families on a ‘more secure financial foothold’, although he too acknowledged the heath risks.
Labour has indicated it has no plans to ban marriages between first cousins.
Cousin marriage is popular among certain communities in Britain such as those of Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage.
One of the most famous modern-day examples of inbreeding related to cousin marriage is the Whittaker family from Odd, West Virginia
Iqbal Mohamed, MP for Dewsbury and Batley, told the House of Commons that many people view family intermarriage as ‘very positive’
MailOnline can reveal multiple NHS employers have advertised for such roles over the past year-and-a-half, some offering salaries of about £50,000
However, the risk it poses to children in undeniable. Due to the parents being close genetic relatives babies roughly have double the chance of developing a host of health problems.
These include blindness, hearing loss, neonatal diabetes, blood disorders, limb malformations, low IQ, cleft palate, heart problems, cystic fibrosis, and even death.
As such the NHS has employed teams of ‘close relative marriage’ midwives and nurses to provide care and advice for related people planning for a family, or those who’ve recently had children.
One such position is a ‘close relative marriage’ neonatal nurse at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust in Slough.
This role involves looking after infants who have disorders related to inbreeding.
A job posting listed in October for the role states: ‘The close relative marriage neonatal nurse will proactively work with affected families practising close relative marriage to encourage a greater level of genetic testing and/or genetic awareness/literacy.’
It adds that the nurse will also need to speak to cousin marriage families ‘in a sensitive, culturally appropriate manner’ and provide ‘non-judgmental evidence-based information’.
Another role advertised by the same trust last summer is the close relative marriage midwife.
This graphic, from NHS material distributed to couples in Bradford, explains some of the genetic risks of having children with a close relative. Two parents with a recessive gene have an increased chance of having a child with an inherited condition
An NHS website hosting the Born in Bradford (BiB) research project describes marrying your cousin is a cultural practice similar to White British women and couples choosing to have kids after the age of 34, another risk factor for genetic conditions
This role aims to help women having a child with a relative ‘understand their risks and the options available to them’ and ’empower women to make informed choices in a culturally sensitive way’.
Both roles add that being fluent in Urdu is desirable.
MailOnline found other ‘close relative’ midwifery and nursing posts being advertised in other parts of England.
These included Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Barts Health NHS Trust in London and positions in GP practices in Bradford.
Many roles highlight that successful applicants will have ‘access to a network of other close relative marriage midwives in other high need areas in England’.
Some of the job postings detail how they are funded directly by NHS England as part of a special ‘Culturally Sensitive Genetic Literacy Project’.
NHS England was contacted for comment.
Marriages between certain blood relatives — as well as some step relationships — is illegal in Britain but this doesn’t include marrying a cousin.
Data suggests the risk of a child of first cousins developing a genetic condition is between 3 to 6 per cent, which is double the risk compared to children from unrelated parents.
This map, by Professor Alan Bittles an Australian expert in genomics, shows rates of consanguineous marriage, that between cousins, around the world
While this still means the majority of children born in such circumstances will be healthy, the increased risk is undeniable.
Medics have previously highlighted children born of such close relative unions are at increased risk of conditions like thalassaemia, a condition where the body doesn’t produce enough haemoglobin.
Haemoglobin is the component of blood that carries oxygen around the body. People lacking it can become anaemic and struggle to do everyday tasks as a result.
Studies have found the prevalence of thalassaemia in Pakistan, where cousin marriage is far more common, is a high as 7 per cent, compared to a global average of 1 per cent.
Other conditions linked to cousin marriages identified by medics include cystic fibrosis, Down’s syndrome, infantile cerebral palsy, and hearing and visual disabilities. In some cases, children can die as a result.
Risks of such conditions broadly increases if there is a family history of inbreeding, as genetic errors can compound between generations.
During conception, children receive one copy of genes from each parent, with the harmful genetic mutations typically overridden by healthier genes.
But when closely related individuals have a child there is a decrease in genetic variation, resulting in an increased risk of these harmful mutations remaining and causing problems.
Existing legislation states the prohibited degrees of relationship for marriage include those to a sibling, parent or child, but not marriages between first cousins, like Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Previous NHS reports in Bradford have highlighted nearly half of deaths in children aged below one in the city were attributable to chromosomal, genetic, and congenital anomalies — which are more common among babies born to cousins.
NHS studies between 2007 and 2011 found consanguineous marriages — a medical term meaning parents that are at least second cousins or more closely related — accounted for 60 per cent of marital unions in people of Pakistani heritage in Bradford.
This compared to just 1 per cent among white British couples in the area.
Subsequent NHS studies, conducted between 2016 and 2020, found the rate of consanguineous unions among this community has fallen to about 43 per cent.
The NHS has previously stated, in leaflets distributed to families in Bradford, that cousin marriage accounts for about a third of birth defects.
Back in 2018 the Mail reported how official figures cited cousin marriages are a key factor in an average of two child deaths every week.
This was derived from the fact that a total of 545 boys or girls born to closely related couples have died in childhood during the past five years.
Controversially the NHS has previously stated that a cousin marriage is no different to ‘liberal’ white Brits choosing to have children over the age of 34, in terms increased risk of genetic conditions in offspring
Worldwide, one in 10 people are thought to be the result of a consanguineous union.
Studies have put Pakistan as having one of the highest rates globally at 65 per cent.
Scientific titans Charles Darwin (left) and the famous physicist Albert Einstein (right) both married their first cousins
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s (left) first wife was his cousin Sajida Talfah. Musician Jerry Lee Lewis (right), of ‘Great Balls of Fire’ fame also controversially married his cousin Myra Gale Lewis Williams when she was just 13, he was 22 at the time
This is followed by India (55 per cent), Saudi Arabia (50 per cent), Afghanistan (40 per cent), Iran (30 per cent) and Egypt and Turkey (20 per cent each).
Other data sets used by genetic experts studying consanguineous marriage have put the UK as having a rate of between 1 to 4 per cent, while the US has a lower rate of less than 1 per cent.
Mr Holden has asked for his Bill to be considered at second reading on January 17 next year.
But it faces a battle to become law due to the amount of parliamentary time available to such private members’ bills to clear the necessary stages.
One of the most famous modern day examples of cousin-related inbreeding is the Whittaker family from Odd, West Virginia.
Siblings Ray, Betty, Larry and Lorene, as well as her son Timmy, are struggling with heartbreaking mental and physical conditions.
The siblings are the descendants of two sets of first cousins who got married. DailyMail.com previously revealed the bloodline continued with a set of identical twin brothers whose children got married.
John and Henry Whittaker were born in 1897. John went on to marry his own first cousin Ada Riggs – the daughter of Mary Perkins, who was the sister of John and Henry’s mother Eliza.
Ada and John had nine children, including Gracie Irene Whittaker who was born in 1920. John’s brother Henry married Sally Burton and they had seven children, including John Emory Whittaker, born in 1913.
Gracie and John were first cousins, but married in November 1935 and had their first child in 1937, having 15 in total.
Many members of the family have suffered from a heart attack, while two did not make it through infancy.
Some of the 15 children died early of an array of illnesses, including heart attack and cancer, believed to be tied to inbreeding.
