DNA Test during Pregnancy - Prenatal Paternity Test

Posted by DNA Cneter India on February 6th, 2020

There are various prenatal diagnostic (PD) techniques for conducting DNA tests during pregnancy in starting or at last stage. Using fetal DNA in maternal blood for fetal sex determination in early pregnancy might help in management of X-linked genetic diseases.

The purpose of DNA Tests during Pregnancy is to reduce the number of invasive tests and according to a research NIPT is considered the most appropriate test for women who are at higher risk for having a baby with chromosomal abnormalities. These include women who have already had a baby with a chromosomal abnormality and those who will be age 35 or older when their baby is born.

The advances in the field of DNA testing allow a sex determination test of the unborn child by analyzing the mother's urine sample. The baby's DNA is isolated and examined for the presence of male and female DNA. The presence of male DNA shows that the unborn child is male. Missing male DNA in the urine of the mother shows that the fetus is female.

 There are many types of paternity tests that can be done to establish paternity such as postnatal testing that is done after the birth of the child and prenatal testing done during pregnancy. You can choose from the following options for prenatal testing or paternity DNA testing:

• Non-Invasive Prenatal Paternity Test: This test is performed after 8th week of the pregnancy. In this, a blood sample from the mother and father is taken and then the test is performed.
• Amniocentesis: This test is performed between the 14th and 20th week of pregnancy. In this, a small amount of amniotic fluid is taken from the mother's uterus and is tested. This paternity test requires the consent of the doctor because there is little risk of harm to the baby, miscarriage, cramps, vaginal bleeding and leakage of amniotic fluid.

• Chorionic villus sampling (CVS): This test is performed during the 10th to 13th week of pregnancy and it involves tests on the chorionic villi obtained from the lining of the uterus. The fetus and chorionic villi have the same genetic makeup and come from the same fertilized egg. This test is done with the consent of a doctor.