The missing element: consanguinity as a component of genetic risk assessment

Area of Science:

• Maternal Health
• Genetics
• Public Health

Background:

• Consanguinity is relevant for identifying at-risk pregnancies.
• Clinical practice data on documenting consanguinity in family history is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine current midwifery practice in documenting consanguinity.
• To identify factors influencing the collection of consanguinity information during pregnancy assessment.

Main Methods:

• Survey of midwives in Victoria, Australia.
• Documentation of current practice, frequency of enquiry, and attitudes regarding consanguinity and family history.

Main Results:

• Only 6.4% of midwives ask about consanguinity, though 65.1% collect family history.
• Social taboos and lack of midwife confidence significantly hinder consanguinity enquiry.
• Midwives' lack of confidence was significantly associated with clinical practice (aOR: 5.3).

Conclusions:

• Organizational and social barriers impede consanguinity data collection in midwifery.
• This limits the identification of at-risk pregnancies.
• Strategies informed by change theory are needed to improve consanguineous couple identification.