A nurse supporting families where parents are close relatives has been hired by the NHS.
The position for a “close relative marriage neonatal nurse/midwife” had been advertised by the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The nurse’s role is to “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,” according to the job description.
They are also tasked with looking after the “wellbeing of neonates, particularly in the context of genetic risks and health challenges that may arise from consanguinity”.
In the job posting, cousins, uncles and aunts, are used as examples of close-relatives who may be married.
The nurse, whose job was first advertised in March 2025, will also be expected to “initiate sensitive, appropriate conversations with families affected with recessive disorders linked to close relative marriage”.
While it is illegal for siblings to marry in the UK, there are no rules against cousins tying the knot.
But some politicians have called for the practice to be banned.
In December 2024, Conservative MP Richard Holden launched a Private Members Bill calling for a ban on first cousin marriages – which was debated in the House of Commons but never made it through the chamber.
Mr Holden argued at the time that children of first cousins face greater risk of birth defects and banning the practice should be a matter of protecting public health.
Independent MP Iqbal Mohamed argued banning them would not be effective, claiming it would be more productive to raise awareness of the risks through education programmes.Some communities have defended first cousin marriages – which are more prevalent in certain cultures.
A 2021 study revealed that about 55% of British Pakistanis are married to first cousins, with the practice accounting for around 3% of all marriages across the UK.
Another study published three years ago showed nearly half (46 per cent) of Pakistani community mothers in three inner-city Bradford wards had married first or second cousins.Born in Bradford, a research programme, tracked 13,500 babies born between 2007 and 2011.
Research showed that blood-related parents could heighten a child’s health risks via recessive disorders such as cystic fibrosis or sickle cell disease.
In fact, first cousin offspring carry a six per cent probability of inheriting a recessive disorder, double the three per cent rate of the general population.
The children of first cousins also require a third more primary care appointments than children from unrelated parents, the research revealed.
LBC has approached the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for comment.
By Jacob Paul
