About Paternity Testing
The American Pregnancy Association cites several reasons for DNA paternity testing. Identifying a child's biological father protects the child's rights, allowing her access to child support payments and receipt of certain benefits, such as social security and veteran's benefits and inheritance. Paternity testing also permits the child's legal father to establish a legal relationship with his child. Paternity testing is usually performed after the child's birth and involves methods that are minimally invasive and pose no harm to the child, notes the APA. However, there are also paternity testing methods that can be used while the child is still in utero.
Post-Natal Paternity Testing
Paternity testing performed after the child's birth involves taking a sample from the child, the child's mother and the putative (assumed) father. According to the APA, this can be a buccal (cheek) swab, blood sample, part of the umbilical cord, or another sample, such as hair or tissue. Buccal swabs and blood testing are equally sufficient in establishing paternity, notes Paternity.Net.com, as DNA testing can be conducted using both. However, buccal swabs cause the child less pain and can be collected soon after birth, as opposed to a heel stick or finger prick.
Amniocentesis & CVS
Prenatal paternity testing can be done either through amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS), both of which can cause a slight risk of miscarriage and harm to a developing fetus. A doctor's consent is required for both procedures when used for purposes of establishing a child's paternity. Amniocentesis can be performed between the 14th and 20th week of pregnancy and involves insertion of a slim needle into the uterus through the abdomen. The amniotic fluid withdrawn from the needle can be used to test for paternity.
CVS is performed slightly earlier, between the 10th and 13th week of pregnancy. During this procedure, a doctor inserts a needle into the cervix through the vagina to get a sample of chorionic villi, the tissue that adheres to the wall of the uterus--because the tissue and the developing fetus came from the same fertilized egg, they share DNA.
Considerations
Over-the-counter paternity test kits can sufficiently establish the biological father of a born child to the degree of certainty required by the court in establishing legal paternity. However, these kits are generally used for "curiosity testing" only. Each state has its own laws in place to deny or establish paternity. In the matter of a contested paternity suit, paternity testing pursuant to a court order--and which is subject to chain of custody rule--is generally required before a paternity order is entered by the court.
Get More Information
The APA notes that there are numerous paternity testing facilities in the U.S., but advises using the services of those accredited by American Association of Blood Banks (AABB). Depending on the method of paternity testing, costs can range between $400 for post-nasal paternity testing to $2,000 for prenatal testing.
