Heredity and MS

"While MS is not hereditary, having a first-degree relative such as a parent or sibling with MS does significantly increase an individual's risk of developing the disease. Studies have shown that there is a higher prevalence of certain genes in populations with higher rates of MS. Common genetic factors have also been found in some families where there is more than one person with MS. Some researchers theorize that MS develops because a person is born with a genetic predisposition to react to some environmental agent that, upon exposure, triggers an immune-mediated response. Sophisticated new techniques for identifying genes are helping to answer questions about the role of genes in the development of MS."

I stole that straight from the National MS Society website: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/What-is-MS/What-Causes-MS

I have a vested interest in learning more about MS and its affects on my family Mainly I am concerned for the well being of my baby girl. 

She is more susceptible to having MS. The fact that her mother has MS and she's a female play into the probability that she herself will have the disease.  

Not cool. 

My mother didn't even know she had MS when she was pregnant with me. I don't blame her at all for the fact that I have MS. Even if she did know, I still wouldn't blame her. However, how could I live with myself knowing I indirectly caused my child any pain?

When I was pregnant, I prayed for a boy. If my offspring were male, he would have a lower risk of developing MS. 

The maternal line in my family is riddled with neurodegeneration. My Mamaw (maternal grandmother) was victim to Alzheimer's. My family is no stranger to the MRI. I'm really hoping it ends with me. Little Sandra has better things to do than worry about her brain. 

We need to move closer to the equator. There are lower numbers of MS patients the closer to the equator. If Sandra is genetically predisposed to MS, she still would need to be exposed to the environmental factor that causes MS. Studies on MS and vitamin d have caught my attention since my diagnosis and even more so after my last MS related hospitalization. My vitamin d levels were very low after I moved to Oregon. The first, grey and gloomy winter in the Willamette Valley had me weak, blind and saying, "Why o why o why o did I ever leave Ohio?"

I take vitamin d pills on a regular basis now and we give Sandra vitamin d as well. It will have to do until we can move to a sunnier part of the world. I would totally change my latitude if it meant helping my baby.