ABSTRACT
The current migratory phenomenon brings numerous consanguineous couples to Italy and Europe, mostly with first degree consanguinity. The risk of genetic disorders in the conception products of these couples is significantly greater than in non-consanguineous couples. From a practical point of view, the output of a genetic analysis is delivered to the parents in the context of a genetic counseling process that aims to explain the molecular basis of the disease and the possible medical, psychological and familial implications of these findings. Over the past two years we have followed the pregnancies of 21 consanguineous migrant couples, in which the ultrasound examination, performed between the first and third trimesters of pregnancy, had also highlighted multiple malformations affecting various fetal districts. Seven couples were also followed by a team of psychiatrists through more focused interviews following the administration of genetic counseling and the decision to interrupt the pregnancy and, in one case, the subsequent death of two infants.
