What is the risk of being a phenylketonuria carrier?
The chance that you or your child is a carrier depends on your family history. If someone in your immediate family (parent, brother, sister) has phenylketonuria or is a PKU carrier, you also could be a carrier. If one parent is a carrier, and the other is not, you have a 50% chance of being a carrier. If you have a brother or sister with PKU, then both your parents must be carriers, and you have a two-thirds chance of being a carrier. Your future child’s risk of being a carrier depends on whether you and your partner are carriers. If one of you is a carrier, each child will have a 50% chance of being a carrier. If both of you are carriers, each of your unborn children has a 25% chance of having PKU. The chance that your unaffected children will be carriers is two-thirds. Should I consider prenatal testing? To discover whether your unborn child has inherited phenylketonuria, you and your partner can seek prenatal testing. Prenatal testing is generally only available if you already have