While pregnancy can be a happy time for a couple, it can also be a cause for concern for the expectant parents. They might be worried about the health of the unborn child, or perhaps even the paternity of the child might be in question. To resolve the latter, many couples opt for a prenatal paternity test. As mentioned in previous blogs, these DNA tests are conducted during a pregnancy where labs use blood samples or cheek swabs from the parents to determine paternity. However, the exact rationale behind this test may not be clear to most people. Thus, here is an elaborate explanation of the prenatal paternity testing process.
What is a prenatal paternity test?
As you probably know already, DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid refers to the genetic material that the children inherit from their mother and father. Thus, to conduct a prenatal paternity test, a DNA sample is collected from the supposed father in form of either a cheek swab or from the blood. Although even saliva can be used for this purpose, it generally contains fewer DNA samples than the cheek and is also more expensive to store and transport. Hence, most labs opt for buccal swabs. For DNA samples of the child, the labs use the mother’s blood for this purpose, as it contains cell-free fetal DNA. Unlike invasive procedures such as Amniocentesis which carries a risk of miscarriage, the non-invasive procedure is completely safe, as it only requires a small blood sample from the mother. Now, coming to the accuracy of the test, barring some form of contamination, mutation or other unforeseen circumstances, the result is extremely accurate in determining paternity.
As for the reasons behind conducting a paternity test, the reasons can vary significantly. In a legal sense, it is most often used for securing child custody or in child support cases. Ultimately, irrespective of the reason, it is clear that a prenatal paternity test is painless, risk-free and provides accurate data.
A prenatal lab with state-of-the-art facilities, Prenatal Genetics is an establishment run by research scientists who are well-versed in the field of human DNA diagnostics. Offering a major price drop in prenatal genetic testing, fast turnaround time, and high-priority shipping facilities, getting a NIPT blood test is now more convenient than ever. Contact us today to learn more about our tests and services.
