Muscular Dystrophy
 |
 |
|
|
Let’s say two children of a couple are born with muscular dystrophy. Should the couple be encouraged to use contraception or go ahead and try for another child who has a very high chance of being born with muscular dystrophy?
This is a very personal choice and couples should seek genetic counselling before trying to get pregnant again to determine their individual risk. Muscular dystrophies are a group of more than 30 genetic diseases characterized by progressive weakness and degeneration of the skeletal muscles. Some are seen in infancy and childhood while others may not appear until middle age or later.
The disorders also differ in the pattern of inheritance. For example Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is the most common form and affects mainly boys. Girls on the other hand have a 50 per cent chance of inheriting and passing the defective gene to their children. So in this case if the couple were to have a girl the child would only be a carrier and not be affected.
Answered by
Dr. Cristopher Ng
Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist
GynaeMD Women’s and Rejuvenation Clinic, Camden Medical Centre.
Got a burning question? Drop an email to doctor@theasianparent.com and we’ll get a Doctor reply back within a week.
Like what you read? Facebook it!
(No Ratings Yet)
Facebook
Twitter
There are many ways, and each person must find what works best for them. Here are a few suggestions that seem to work well for most people.
The first thing is to realize that almost all stress is caused not by events in the external world, but by how you react to those events.
You create your thoughts, and your stress levels are the direct product of these thoughts.