What are some specific examples of issues for which Genetic Counseling is recommended?
• Birth defects, such as congenital heart defect, spina bifida (open spine) or cleft lip and cleft palate, Cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, Down syndrome, neurofibromatosis, and Huntington’s disease • Mental retardation • Disorders that include blindness, deafness, neurological problems • Metabolic diseases, such as phenylketonuria (PKU) • Diseases that run in families, such as cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, heart conditions, and mental illness (manic depression, schizophrenia) • Infertility, stillbirths, multiple miscarriages, or infant deaths • Marriage between persons who are related by blood • The association between ethnicity and genetic conditions: Tay Sachs disease in people of Jewish descent or sickle cell anemia in African Americans
