Understanding Carrier Status: What It Means for You and Your Partner

Many prospective parents are choosing to learn more about their genetics before starting their family journey. Understanding your carrier status is an empowering step that can help you make informed decisions about your future family's health.

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What Does It Mean to Be a Carrier?

Genetic carrier screening is a test that provides valuable insights into genetic risks to your offspring.

Being a carrier simply means you have a gene variant that could be passed to future children. It's completely normal and common, and typically doesn’t cause any symptoms in the carrier. In fact, most people are carriers for one or more genetic conditions without knowing it. However, when both biological parents are carriers for mutations in the same gene, there is a chance for their children to inherit that condition. 

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Why Consider Carrier Testing?

Knowledge is power when it comes to family planning. Consider that:

• About 80% of children born with a genetic condition have no known family history
• Testing can be done before or during pregnancy
• Early knowledge provides more options for family planning

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Who Should Consider Testing?

Carrier screening is recommended for:

• Couples planning a pregnancy
• Those in early pregnancy who have not had testing previously
• Anyone wanting to understand more about their genetics
• Partners and individuals using donor eggs or sperm

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The Importance of Early Testing

Getting tested before pregnancy provides:

• More time to understand your options
• Greater flexibility in family planning decisions
• Opportunity to connect with genetic counselors
• Peace of mind during your journey

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The Testing Process

Getting tested is straightforward and can be done from the comfort of your home following these steps: 

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1. Order your screening kit
2. Provide a simple saliva sample
3. Receive comprehensive results
4. Connect with genetic counselors who can help you understand your results

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Understanding Results Together

When both partners get tested, there are several possible outcomes:

• Neither partner is a carrier
• Only one partner is a carrier
• Both partners are carriers for different conditions
• Both partners are carriers for the same condition

Genetic counseling is available to help you understand what your results mean for your family planning journey.

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Making Informed Decisions

If you and your partner are carriers for the same condition, you have several options:

• Pre-implantation genetic testing using IVF
• Prenatal testing during pregnancy 
• Working with genetic counselors to understand all available choices

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Your Next Steps

Understanding your carrier status is a proactive step in family planning. Whether you're actively planning for pregnancy or thinking about your future family, genetic carrier screening provides valuable information to help you make confident decisions.

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Remember, being a carrier is common and normal. The goal of testing is to empower you with knowledge that can help you make informed choices about your family's future.

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Ready to learn more about your genes? Connect with our genetic counselors to discuss your options and start your journey toward informed family planning.