An NHS trust has appointed a specialist nurse dedicated to supporting families where parents share close blood relations.
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust advertised a vacancy for a “close relative marriage neonatal nurse/midwife” to work with affected families.
The position description specified the successful applicant would “provide comprehensive care and support to families who have recently had a baby and are close relatives, cousins, uncles, aunts, or other closely related family members.”
British law prohibits sibling marriages while permitting cousin unions, though ministers face growing pressure to ban cousin marriages amid health concerns for offspring of blood-related parents.
Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden introduced legislation to outlaw the practice in 2024 during his time as a backbencher, arguing children of first cousins face elevated birth defect risks warranting a public health ban.
Downing Street responded at the time by confirming no plans to prohibit the practice.
MP condemns trust approach
Holden said of the advertisement: “The impact of first cousin marriage is highly damaging for health, individual freedom, and most importantly for the cohesion of our country. Rather than wasting taxpayers’ money dealing with the consequences of first cousin marriage, the Government should back my bill and bring an end to this practice for good.”
Genetic risks addressed
The Bradford nurse will focus on ensuring the “wellbeing of neonates, particularly in the context of genetic risks and health challenges that may arise from consanguinity” – defined as descent from the same ancestor.
The trust acknowledged “very few” close relative marriage nurses operate across the UK.
Cousin marriages among white British couples represent approximately 1 per cent of unions, yet the BBC reports the practice remains relatively widespread within certain South Asian minority communities.
Data published three years ago from Born in Bradford research showed nearly half (46 per cent) of Pakistani community mothers across three inner-city Bradford wards had married first or second cousins.
Research programme findings
The Born in Bradford research programme, operating from Bradford Institute for Health Research, tracks 13,500 babies born between 2007 and 2011.
Research identified that blood-related parents could elevate child health risks through recessive disorders including cystic fibrosis or sickle cell disease, reports The Telegraph.
First cousin offspring required a third more primary care appointments than children from unrelated parents – averaging four rather than three annually.
Children born to first cousins carry a 6 per cent probability of inheriting a recessive disorder, double the 3 per cent rate affecting the general population.
Nurse responsibilities outlined
Bradford’s close-relative specialist will engage “at risk families practising close relative marriage” to promote expanded genetic testing, heightened awareness of medical implications and “access to genetic services for families to enable informed reproductive decision-making.”
The initiative aims to “enable parents to make informed choices in a culturally sensitive, empowering way.”
The position, initially advertised in March 2025, requires the nurse to “initiate sensitive, appropriate conversations with families affected with recessive disorders linked to close relative marriage.”
The role carries annual remuneration between £37,338 and £44,962.
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was contacted for comment.