Is A Prenatal Test Right for Me?
The following articles are provided by organizations partnering with the American Pregnancy Association to deliver related information to you. The mention of specific products or services does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement by the APA unless it is explicitly stated.
Some expectant mothers want or need to establish the paternity of their child before the baby is born. DNA Diagnostics Center offers prenatal paternity testing for these patients. Because this type of paternity testing involves taking a sample of the unborn baby’s DNA from inside the mother’s womb, there are risks to the developing fetus and other special circumstances to consider when determining whether a prenatal paternity test is right for you.
The baby’s gestational age – how far along the pregnancy has progressed – is the first thing an expectant mother must consider. Prenatal paternity testing can only be performed when the expectant mother is between 10 and 24 weeks pregnant. If the pregnancy is in the 10th to 13th week, chorionic villi sampling (CVS) is the sample collection procedure that is performed. However, if the expectant mother is in her 14th to 24th week of pregnancy, amniocentesis is the procedure that will be used.
In each of these two procedures, fetal DNA is collected by removing extraneous cells—those that the fetus have shed into the surrounding fluid (amniocentesis), or cells from the placenta (CVS). These cells are taken from the mother using a long, thin needle inserted through the cervix or the abdomen, depending on fetal size and position. The fetal DNA is then compared with the mother’s and alleged father's DNA to determine paternity. These procedures are performed by an OB-GYN. DNA Diagnostics Center partners with a network of OB-GYNs across the United States and can coordinate an appointment for patients who do not have an OB-GYN already providing their prenatal care.
Recently, studies have indicated the possibility that non-invasive methods could be used to determine paternity. Several methods have been studied, but the most popular of which centers on the notion that fetal DNA does seep into the expectant mother’s bloodstream and therefore would be present in a sample of the mother’s blood. These studies indicate that if fetal DNA can be isolated in the mother’s blood, this method could be used to determine paternity without the risks involved in CVS or amniocentesis.
However, such non-invasive studies are in their infancy and must be refined before they are seen as an industry-accepted, valid and reliable form of prenatal paternity testing. Because the non-invasive prenatal sampling procedure is not yet an established method, AABB-accredited laboratories generally do not offer this type of prenatal DNA testing. AABB accreditation is required for legally defensible test results and is the gold standard in accreditation in the DNA testing industry. As an AABB-accredited laboratory, DNA Diagnostics Center does not perform or recommend any form of non-invasive prenatal paternity testing.
If you need more information about prenatal paternity testing or would like to schedule a sample collection appointment with one of DDC’s participating OB-GYNs nationwide, call toll-free at 1-800-798-0580 to speak with one of DDC’s caring case managers.