My husband is of an ethnic background where marrying close relatives is common and has been practiced for many generations. I am not of this culture. We have had three miscarriages at seven-eight weeks gestation. His brother's wife, who also is not of the culture, have had two miscarriages at the same gestation. A technician suggested that due to the closeness of their previous generations, they may carry genes that look for similar genes, and when these are not found, they stop duplicating and cause miscarriages. Is there any truth to this, or tests to determine if this is so? -Jill

Marrying a close relative actually increases the risk of miscarriage, because it raises the risk of recessive genetic diseases. As you bring new and different genes, I do not believe that this ethnic practice should affect your pregnancy.