When you fall pregnant, you will often find yourself hit with a barrage of tests designed to keep you are your unborn child as healthy as possible. However, when you are planning to start a family with your partner, you should consider undertaking a genetic carrier test that will give you a breakdown of the medical conditions you could possibly pass on to your future children. The correct thinking is that every person in the world has 46 chromosomes and around 25,000 genes that mark us out because of our individual DNA that is passed on to our children during conception.

It can be difficult to start a family in the modern world when you are looking to make sure you have the correct information to ensure your family begins with the best health possible. In the modern world, there are so many medical conditions and possible genetic issues that your family can be affected by that getting a headstart on understanding the problems you and your children could face in the future.

Carrier testing can help you understand if you are going to be affected by a number of different medical, including:

• Club foot
• Congenital heart disease
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Diabetes
• Hemophilia
• Tay-Sachs Disease

This is not an exhaustive list of the possible medical conditions genetic carrier testing, but it provides you with an understanding of the different types of medical conditions that could be identified when you undertake genetic testing.

Genetic testing is a powerful tool for many people who are hoping to be parents or want to expand your family. You may not feel you are at risk of any genetic medical issues, but each ethnic group is at risk of certain medical conditions and diseases, such as the risk of sickle cell disease for members of the African-American community.

Understanding your own family history is vital to gaining a complete understanding of the medical conditions your children will be at risk from. If you are shown to be of Eastern European or Jewish descent, you could face hereditary issues with Tay-Sachs Disease. The risk of cystic fibrosis is at its highest in the caucasian community with every parent needing to know the risks your family will face in the future.

How to use the Information from Genetic Testing

Genetic testing can throw up a great deal of information that we can all use or disregard depending on the choices we make for the future. By undertaking genetic carrier testing, you can take the information you receive and assess your potential for future issues. Those who have been affected by a miscarriage in the past or lost a child before the age of one should assess their possibilities for future issues through the use of genetic testing.

The assistance that can be received from genetic testing for anybody who has had problems conceiving in the past will be easy to see because each genetic testing expert is also a therapist skilled in assessing all the given information. If you test positive for a specific medical condition, you will be able to work through the many different options that are available to you as you assess the family planning options that are open to you.

The first step you should take if you are given the word of your possible genetic risks is to have your partner tested to ensure you do not have a larger chance of passing on a defective gene to your children. Even if you are affected by the same genetic risks for both yourself and your partner, you can find solutions to any issues that could possibly affect your children. This means you can work with a genetic counselor to make sure different eggs and sperm are tested for the genetic mutation and only those not carrying these genes are selected for use.

In general, the main reason why you should look to take part in genetic testing for medical conditions is to give yourself peace of mind when you are looking to plan your family. If you are already pregnant when you and your partner make the decision to undertake genetic testing, you will be given various options to make sure you can have all the information you need to prepare yourself for any potentially difficult times that lie ahead.

If you are concerned about your family history during pregnancy or simply looking for the peace of mind that comes with understanding your genetic makeup call us today at (205) 352-9141 to learn more about genetic testing and family planning.