What are the chances my baby will have red hair and blue eyes?

red hair color loss image

Lissa

This question is just for fun. I'm 21 weeks pregnant and was daydreaming about what the baby will look like. It's a girl.

My husband and I both have blue eyes. I'm not 100% sure how it works, but I think blue is a recessive trait so would that mean our baby has to (or is very likely to) have blue eyes?

As for the red hair, my dad had red hair that turned brown once he got into his 30s. I was born with bright red hair that has since turned to a darker strawberry blonde (I'm 24). My husband has brown hair, but when he grows his beard it has some red in it. His brother and sister both have red hair. I'm not sure what color his parents hair was originally. His dad has gray hair now and his mom colors her hair.

So if you had to guess, what color hair and eyes do you think our girl will have?

Answer
You are correct in saying that blue eyes are recessive - so it is very likely your child will have blue eyes. (there are many genes for eye colour - no eyes are exactly one colour - take a closer look you will probably see flecks of brown or green aswell, so this could also determine the child's eyes)

As your husband is a carrier of the "red hair gene" by the sounds of it, and you probably have it too (not sure what causes the discolouration of it, i think it is a loss of pigments like when hair turns grey?) it is fairly likely your girl will have red hair too - but it is likely it will follow the same trait as yours and your dads. If you are both carriers of "red hair gene", there is a one in four chance of red hair in your child. If you have the dominant allele and your husband is a carrier, there is one in two chance of your child having red hair.
This is just from my knowledge of biology and genetics - currently doing second year of A2 biology :-)
I hope everything goes well for you and good luck for the rest of your pregnancy, im sure whatever hair and eye colour she has she is going to be gorgeous ! :-D

Is red hair really a sign of persistent starvation?

Magic * Me

I heard someone say it is. Like, if a people's been starved through generations or something their kids begin to have red hair and something. That true?

Answer
Not at all lol.

Red hair appears in people with two copies of a recessive gene on chromosome 16 which causes a mutation in the MC1R protein.
Red hair can originate from several changes on the MC1R-gene. If one of these changes is present on both chromosomes then the respective individual is likely to have red hair. This type of inheritance is described as an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. Even if both parents do not have red hair themselves, both can be carriers for the gene and have a redheaded child.

In rare cases red hair can be associated with a disease or genetic disorder.

In cases of severe malnutrition, normally dark human hair may turn red or blonde. The condition, part of a syndrome known as kwashiorkor, is a sign of critical starvation caused chiefly by protein deficiency, (melanin found in protein is what genetically determines hair color, so a deficiency in protein would lead to a loss of eumelanin, which is an amino acid responsible for making hair and skin darker) and is common during periods of famine. (This is probably what you are referring to. this does Not happen genetically or change a persons genetics. It is the direct result of loss of protein due to starvation. It would not be carried on through generations.)
One variety of albinism (Type 3, aka rufous albinism), sometimes seen in Africans and inhabitants of New Guinea, results in red hair and red-colored skin.
Red hair is found on people lacking pro-opiomelanocortin.

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