The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has advertised a pilot role known as a “close-relative marriage nurse/midwife” at a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Bradford. The listing attracted widespread attention after screenshots began circulating on social media.The job was posted by Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as a two-year pilot role based in its NICU. According to the advert, the nurse or midwife would work with families in which the parents are closely related by blood, most commonly first cousins, and whose babies require specialist neonatal care.The role involves supporting families while their babies are in intensive care, helping arrange genetic counselling and testing, and explaining inherited health risks linked to close-relative parentage. The advert describes the post as new and part of a small pilot scheme. It also lists language skills such as Urdu as desirable, reflecting the local population served by the hospital.The post is linked to long-term research into health outcomes in the city. Studies from the Born in Bradford project show that children born to first-cousin couples have a higher risk of congenital conditions than those born to unrelated parents. A 2023 analysis found the risk rises from about 3% to around 6%, even after adjusting for factors such as poverty, maternal age, and smoking. First-cousin marriage is legal in the UK and has never been banned. Across the country it is relatively rare, but it remains more common in certain local areas. Medical research has found that genetic risks increase when close-relative marriages continue across generations.The job advert reportedly was first published on the NHS Jobs website on 14 February 2025 and initially received little public attention. In early February 2026, screenshots of the listing were widely shared on X, where many users treated it as a new development.The resurfaced advert triggered a strong reaction online. Critics questioned why public funds were being used for a role linked to a practice they oppose and focused on the wording of the job title and the language requirements. Some posts used satire or exaggerated language, while others linked the role to wider debates about healthcare priorities, immigration, and integration.Commentators later pointed out that the role was not newly created in 2026 and that the backlash followed renewed circulation of an older listing. There is no evidence the post was re-advertised or expanded after it went viral.The NHS has described the role as a time-limited pilot focused on neonatal care. It is expected to run for two years, after which it will be reviewed before any decision is made on whether it should continue or be introduced elsewhere. strictly fact check this article
