Paternity tests are most generally carried out after the birth of the child. Parents wishing to find out and solve the pressing issue rarely feel the sense of urgency to be so extreme as to opt for a prenatal paternity test. Prenatal tests are accurate and reliable as any post-natal paternity tests once the DNA has been sampled from the baby.

Non Invasive Prental Paternity testing

The possible risk of undergoing amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling to determine paternity before birth is a worry for many mothers. Of course, the fact the medicine is today so advanced does help alleviate and ease peoples’ mind. A more recent, totally safe and risk free prenatal paternity test is today available. The test is a new boundary that has been overcome in the field of DNA testing. Rather then take a fetal DNA sample from the expectant mother’s womb as happens in amniocentesis and CVS, scientists take the fetal DNA sample from the maternal blood. It is known that a pregnant mother has her baby’s DNA mixed with her own blood. this means that just a simple blood sample from the mother will provide laboratory analysts with her baby’s DNA.

The Issues with conventional Prenatal Testing for Paternity

  • Prenatal testing is an invasive procedure and can carry certain risks. Although these risks are minor they are nevertheless still a possibility. Amongst the main risks is either infection at the location in which the needle used to sample the DNA enters the mother’s body or harm to the baby by stressing it or the womb. There is also the possibility of infection in the amniotic sac.
  • With prenatal testing used as a type of paternity test, there is the issue of what will the people involved decide to do with the child if it is not from the father they wish it to.

We Should Begin by Discussing the Two Main Methods used in Prenatal Testing

Amniocentesis: This involves inserting needle through the abdomen to enter the womb. The procedure is clearly to be done under general anesthetic and by a qualified obstetric surgeon. To be able to know where exactly to puncture the abdomen so as to enter the correct part of the womb, an ultrasound is used. Amniocentesis takes place between the 15-20th week of pregnancy.

Chorionic Villus Sampling: This happens earlier in pregnancy than amniocentesis, generally between the 10-12th week of pregnancy and differs to amniocentesis in that the surgeon can enter through the vagina instead of the abdomen.

In most cases, there is no reason not to wait for after the birth of the child to carry out the paternity test. People might feel pressured to have a prenatal test because they desire a father to be registered on the birth certificate of the child and thus, most would wish to have a father’s name on it. However, there is ample time to carry out a paternity DNA test once the child is born as there is a time frame within which the father needs to be registered and given the fact that a paternity test can be done in just 7 days, having a prenatal test is rarely a real necessity. For the reasons mentioned above, easyDNA UK does not offer this test. The prenatal test has certain ethical implications which come to bear and one cannot forget the small risk of harming the baby no matter how small.