I fell in love with my half-cousin. Out of interest i want to know what kind of problems are there possible with kids etc. He doesn't want it to continue, although he wants it (we're like soulmates - we grew up together and we're the same age - i haven't felt like this. never. ever. never.). The exact relation is that my mother and his father are cousins. What kind of genetic problems are there and so on. There will probably be an end but i want to know it for sure that it can't go on or else i'll be banging my head against a wall for the rest of my life. Can't get him out of my head, please help ((. (serious answers please )
First of all thanx for the answer. But I myself, believe me, have thought about the social impact more than anyone. I'm more interested about the facts conserning the other problem. (my cousine and her cousins know for this, we are all close, and are ok (actually happy for us) with it). The point is that i have more than fifty relatives like this, 50% of them i haven't even seen, the others i wouldn't recognize.
Most people want what they can't have-him being related just makes it more exciting. Wait till the rush leaves and then re look at him. He might look different.
LOL I know. I wouldn't follow my advice either and would let my emotions and desires drive the car-it's why I crash a lot.
have you thought of talking to a doctor or something? It is confidential and he may be able to give you a better anwser.
Well, first of all a lot of us are related an don't know it....grins' In family lines...if one or both carry the same gene...an usually shows Then there may be some problems Go to a specialized blood lab center/ can't think what their called at moment I know Lansing, Mi has a biggy (where they determine paturnity an medical blood disorders..etc) several states go thru there. Just as in 'paps smears' (Ob/gyn) like sometimes go to California So to cure some of your fears... Look into it... As far as family or friends....people for many generations have married their cousins.....so not that surprizing Keeping in mind 'respect' patience, compassion, perception all go with us or should in our decisions An remember to 'exhale' more often ...LOL ((Hugs))
Very nice post, thanx. It hasn't went so far, doh, we agreed it wouldn't. But still I appreciate it deeply. I just want to know my options.
If there is any specific disease that runs in the family, your potential children may have a higher chance of having the gene mutation that causes such familial disorders. Usually, though, even first cousins having children do not cause birth defects and such. That is a myth, used to perpetuate the social taboo of marrying close relatives. It works, too. Your mother and his father are cousins? You aren't very closely related at all, honestly (that makes you second cousins, not half cousins, BTW). Genetics is really not an issue. How the family feels about it, now that could be a very big issue. If you grew up together, there might be something wrong, your attraction for him could be a symptom of a greater problem. Might not. Only you know the answer to that question.
if you grew up more as siblings, get away now. see a geneticist (even as a simple phone interview, perhaps an instructor at a uni would be helpful) I'm assuming no adoption or true halves/steps are involved? and talk to a counseling pro.
According to Wikipedia, close family relations (parent-child and sibling-sibling) have a high risk of producing genetic defects, and bringing out recessive genes. Extended family relations (first cousins) do not share this risk, and I am fairly positive that that is also true of half-cousins. More than a handful of states disallow first cousin marriage; I am not aware that any of them prohibit half-cousin marriage. Check your local state laws. I doubt it would be called incest, at least in a courtroom.
You seem quite set on having kids. If you wanted you could love him without having to bring in children, or adopt but as stated before the risk is minimal, and a few birth defects can be detected before birth, and the child can be aborted also every pregnacy has risks, and every time you have a child there can be many complications, and this realtionship is doubtful to produce an increase to that risk by much
How to explain genetics in a short period of time.....here goes: You get your genetic make up mostly from your mother, as does everyone else. The father contributes the "sex related" genetics like baldness, color blindness etc. Basically if there is a family history of a disease you increase the risk of passing it on to a child. That is the reason that people don't marry (or procreate) inside a family unit. Talk to a doctor and they can tell you the exact risks. It would take up entirely too much room for me to, and I am not up to typing that much
His Eden, your genetics is way off. You may be confusing the cellular DNA (which comes half from each parent) with the mitochondrial RNA (which comes from your mother only). I agree that talk to a doctor is good advise.
It was late, I was tired.... I did find this article that might shed some light on things: ( I did NOT write it, so if you disagree contact the author ) Contrary to widely held beliefs and longstanding taboos in America, first cousins can have children together without a great risk of birth defects or genetic disease, scientists are reporting today. They say there is no biological reason to discourage cousins from marrying. First cousins are somewhat more likely than unrelated parents to have a child with a serious birth defect, mental retardation or genetic disease, but their increased risk is nowhere near as large as most people think, the scientists said. In the general population, the risk that a child will be born with a serious problem like spina bifida or cystic fibrosis is 3 percent to 4 percent; to that background risk, first cousins must add another 1.7 to 2.8 percentage points, the report said. Although the increase represents a near doubling of the risk, the result is still not considered large enough to discourage cousins from having children, said Dr. Arno Motulsky, a professor emeritus of medicine and genome sciences at the University of Washington, and the senior author of the report. "In terms of general risks in life it's not very high," Dr. Motulsky said. Even at its worst, 7 percent, he said, "93 percent of the time, nothing is going to happen." ( http://www.geocities.com/luvacuzn4/CousinsMarryingCousins.html )
So, one pair of cousins mating is a geneticaly acceptable risk. But a society in which it becomes common is in trouble. Two cousins (whose parents and grandparents were counsins) are geneticaly closer than two cousins whose parents were unrelated. Genetics is not really the issue. Horney youth doesn't care about such details.
I love it when young girls decide to have sex with the wrong guy, get pregnant and break up before the kid is even born. If you are going to sleep with your cousin, have him at least wear a rubber. Its almost too predictable.
