The Effect of Consanguinity on Neonatal Outcomes and Health

Consanguineous marriages constitute a significant fraction of marriages worldwide and confer a major public health concern on newborns. In addition to the risk of acquiring a recessive genetic disease, the offspring of consanguineous parents are plausibly at an increased risk of preterm birth, decreased anthropometric measurements, congenital defects and mortality. How consanguinity confers such an increased risk is still largely unknown. In this review, we discuss the effect of consanguinity on selected gestational outcomes by delineating the different studies that have led to such findings. We also investigate the different conclusions that have emerged regarding the effect of consanguinity on gestational outcomes.