Patient's question:
Got married for two or three years without taking any contraceptive measures, but still haven't been able to get pregnant. I'm wondering if male pattern baldness in the wife's family can be inherited by the child.Doctor's answer:
Baldness is an autosomal recessive genetic trait. Baldness is usually inherited over generations. For example: if the maternal grandfather is bald, the grandson may also be bald. This is because the bald X chromosome from the maternal grandfather was passed on to the mother. Since the mother has only one X chromosome carrying the baldness gene and the other is normal, and baldness is a recessive gene, the mother is a normal carrier. If the mother has a son, there is a 50% chance that he will inherit the X chromosome carrying the baldness gene. If the son inherited the X chromosome with the baldness gene from his mother, he will be bald.