+353 (1) 685 6929 Paternity testing can be done either after birth or before birth. Prenatal paternity testing is done during pregnancy when the mother and alleged father do not wish to wait until the birth of the child to establish who the biological father of the child is. For post natal paternity testing, DNA sampling is very simple and straightforward as it just requires the use of an oral swab. With prenatal paternity testing, there are two methods of fetal DNA sampling available: Invasive prenatal DNA paternity testing – this involves either inserting a needle through the abdomen and into the amniotic sac to extract amniotic fluid (amniocentesis) or inserting a needle through the vagina into the womb to extract samples of chorionic villi (Chorionic villus sampling).
Both invasive tests carry the risk of miscarriage. Non invasive prenatal paternity tests are risk free methods to confirm paternity during pregnancy. These tests only require a blood sample from alleged father and mother. Non invasive prenatal paternity tests are highly accurate; fetal DNA is known to be found in a pregnant mother’s blood.