Paternity Myths

A prenatal paternity test is a method used to establish paternity while pregnant. Postnatal methods, such as Buccal swabs and umbilical cord testing require that a baby be born before paternity can be established. Prenatal methods, such as Aminiocentesis, Chorinoic Villus Sampling (CVS), and the non-invasive SNP microarray method can be performed as early as 9 weeks after conception.

There are many reasons why someone may want to establish paternity. The basic answer is to determine the father of a child as early as possible, perhaps even before the baby is born. More complex reasons may include access to legal and social benefits, establishing accurate medical histories, and perhaps simply to strengthen the family bond, particularly between a father and child.

There are 2 types of prenatal paternity testing: 1) an invasive method that requires fetal tissue (cells), and 2) the safest method, a non-invasive alternative, that tests fetal DNA found in the mother’s blood.

The non-invasive paternity test is the most accurate non-invasive way to determine paternity before a baby’s birth. The Whos your babys daddy process is state-of-the-art, combining the latest in DNA SNP microarray technology and proprietary methods of preserving and analyzing the baby’s DNA found naturally in the mother’s bloodstream.

The alternate method, a prenatal test with Amniocentesis or CVS, can be performed by obtaining fetal tissue (cells) through either an amniocentesis or CVS sample which is usually ordered by an OB. Once the samples are collected-collected by an OB-GYN from the amniotic fluid surrounding the developing fetus (amniocentesis) or from the placenta (CVS) plus from cheek swabs from the mother and possible father-they are sent to the laboratory for analysis. These methods produce accurate paternity results, but do present a slight risk of miscarriage.

Perhaps the best way to explain what is meant by non-invasive is to look at the opposite approach, what could be called an invasive paternity test. Traditional invasive paternity tests require that cells be obtained from the amniotic fluid surrounded the developing fetus or tissue from the placenta, which in some cases can cause miscarriage.

A non-invasive paternity test, by contrast, utilizes fetal DNA isolated from the mother’s blood, therefore does not require a needle to be inserted into the mother’s womb.

At Whos your babys daddy we provide at least a 99.9% probability of paternity in cases where paternity is confirmed (for both invasive and non-invasive tests). In fact, many studies have confirmed the effectiveness of a non-invasive prenatal paternity test.

One such study, as reported in the New England of Medicine, tested 30 blood samples from biologic mothers and fathers (the fathers were grouped with unrelated men, for the sake of the test). In every case the researchers were able to correctly identify paternity!

Non-invasive testing can be done as early as 9 weeks after conception.

For a non-invasive prenatal paternity test there is no risk to the fetus apart from the ordinary risk to the mother of having her blood drawn.

Prior to this non-invasive test, prenatal paternity testing included invasive methods to obtain a suitable fetal sample by way of Amniocentesis or CVS (Chorionic Villus Sample). Both of these invasive methods run a slight risk of miscarriage. Unlike these invasive methods, the non-invasive test only uses the mother’s blood to detect free-floating DNA from the baby.

You will receive results within 7 business days from the time the samples are received at the laboratory.

Whos your babys daddy does offer a legal paternity test which can be used in court cases.

If you anticipate that your test results may potentially be used in a court case, we recommend this court-approved test.