Hi, My Mother-in-Law has MS and recently we found out that my husband has problems with fertility and have since been told by a consultant that it may be linked to his Mother’s MS. Does anyone know anything about this? I can’t find anything on the internet about it, but we were advised that if there is a family history of MS it can lead to fertility issues in children. Any info would be appreciated. Thank you.
I have never, ever heard anything like this before. In fact quite the opposite; that having MS has no impact on fertility. Given the number of people with a parent with MS I find it surprising. The only link betwen parents and their offspring and MS is that the offspring have a very slightly higher chance of developing MS than other people.
There can be a risk of infertitlity in some neural tube defects in children of affected parents but that is a very different set of conditions.
I rather think your consultant was talking rubbish. Just because they are consultants doesn’t make them infallible. (Not that I am suggesting I am )
Was this an infertiltiy consultant rather than an MS specialist? If so, double check with your husband’s neuro but I do think you’ll find he was talking nonsense.
I hope you are able to find a way around the infertiltiy problems and all the best,
Belinda
I just did a search for multiple sclerosis and infertility in the academic database I use: there was absolutely nothing to suggest that MS causes infertility in offspring. So I have no idea where this guy got this idea from, but it doesn’t seem to be based on research. (Actually, I suspect it is utter c***!)
Karen x
My mom had it and had two kids.
I have got it and had two kids and so has my sister.
Can’t see a fertility issue there.
Pip
I couldn’t find anything by normal Googling, either. The only links to fertility and MS in the same paragraph seemed to be that fertility treatment might worsen MS in women who already have it. But nothing citing MS as a cause of infertility.
I know MS is not considered hereditary, but it’s now known beyond doubt that genetics are important. If MS really did impact the fertility of subsequent generations, why wouldn’t it have died out by now, as there would be progressively less chance of the “risky” genes being passed on?
Tina
Thank you for your responses, they have our our minds at rest. We are meeting with the consultant again on Monday so I will ask for further information then. Thanks again
Hello again,
It turns out that because my husband had Hydrocele (accumulation of serous fluid in the testicles) when he was an infant and again when he was a little older that is why the consultant thought his infertility may have been linked to his Mother having MS. Not that the MS had directly caused the infertility. My husband had many operations which it turns out have made him unable to have children naturally.
Has anyone heard of a Mother having MS and it leading to Hydrocele in infants?
It’s by the by as finding out won’t change the situation of course, but we would be interested to know if it was caused by MS.
Thanks in advance
Ps. I’m remaining anonymous as his Mother doesn’t know about our situation and I am not sure if she uses this forum.