Consanguineous Marriages and Reproductive Behavior: A Study from Vidarbha Region of Maharashtra

Abstract

Introduction: India has been subdivided in to two major regions with respect to a preference for or avoidance of consanguineous marriage. The deleterious health effects associated with consanguinity are caused by the expression of rare, recessive genes inherited from common ancestors. Objectives: To find out the prevalence and types of consanguinity and reproductive behaviour in rural area of Nagpur district. Methodology: study design: cross sectional study. Setting: Raipura village, a field practise area of Indira Gandhi Government Medical College, Nagpur. Study population: married couples. Result: The prevalence of consanguineous marriage in study couple was 16.43%. Most prevalent type of consanguineous marriage was seen in mother’s brother’s daughter type (73.04%). Significant association found in study couples and consanguinity in their parents. No significant effect of consanguinity was observed on foetal loss, neonatal mortality but significant association was found with congenital malformations. Conclusion: Consanguineous marriages are still favourable in this region.

Keywords

• consanguineous marriage
• parental consanguinity
• reproductive outcome