Paternity Test Information

By Jane Bear in Pregnancy on June 6th, 2008

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by Jane Bear

Not so long ago any man could simply say that this is, or is not, my child and it was legally binding for their heritage. Today with the dawn of the new era in science and technology, everything seems to be possible under the sun. With high tech gadgets and state of the art innovative devices, one can easily do what might have been impossible decades ago, like detecting a fingerprint, a person lying, and even determine the father of your baby through paternity testing.

Paternity testing does not only help in finding who the real father of a child is, cases that involve child claims or when a mother’s fidelity is in question, pregnancy and rape can also be solved especially nowadays where rape cases are high. There are a lot of reasons to perform paternity testing, but each reason can vary in different circumstances.

Depending on what kind of test that needs to be performed and the level of investigation, the cost of testing ranges from affordable to very expensive. Also, depending upon the category and size of the samples to be tested, costs vary from lab to lab. You have to make sure that an external body accredits the lab; and you should also know the percentage error of that lab, and the degree of certainty the lab offers before you hire your lab to perform your DNA paternity test. Some poorer quality labs may guarantee only 98% certainty while some expensive labs offer a 99.9999% accuracy which can be a big difference.

But not all paternity tests are expensive. A home paternity test is inexpensive and is easy to use. Having legal paternity testing performed is safe and easy without having any discomfort to anyone involved. In fact, it can be performed in the comfort of your own home through a paternity test kit, which provides complete items that are needed such as swabs, forms and containers.

In order to collect DNA samples of each of the persons involved, a buccal swab is used from the inside cheeks. The possible father and the infant need to be tested, and it might be of great use to also test the mother. The samples are then placed in a tube, labeled and then sent to a lab for DNA testing and comparison. Then you will be informed about the result of the test as soon as possible.

DNA paternity testing is the comparison of the DNA samples of a child, a man, and in some cases along with the mother. Each one of us has 23 pairs of chromosome, half of it we inherit from our mother and half of it from our father. If a match is found between a child and a man, without a doubt he is the biological father. The DNA of the mother can help in testing by removing the mother’s DNA from the equation.

In some cases, there are some who perform paternity testing prior to childbirth for legal issues or physiological ground such as in cases of sexual abuse. Or in cases like numerous sexual partners, it may be useful to perform prenatal paternity test to start a proceeding for child support and medical bills when the child is born. Prenatal paternity testing is done while the mother is pregnant and depending on the way the mother chooses, determines when the test is performed. You can select between blood sample and amniocentesis. Although there are risks involved when performing the latter such as injuring the fetus or possibly aborting it and many other risks.

A family can find out right away if there is a biological relationship between a child and a father with paternity testing. The most crucial thing about getting the results of the test is that you will finally know once and for all know whom the real father of the child is. And perhaps the most painful emotional thing is that when you finally realize that you are not raising your own child.

About the Author:

Ms. Jane Bear is the best writer since Shakespeare. See more of her stuff at Guide on Infant Items Get your free report on Maternity Clothes and Apparel