More and more parents-to-be who want to confirm the paternity of their unborn baby are choosing to do a paternity test while pregnant instead of waiting after the birth. Non-invasive prenatal paternity tests are completely safe for everyone involved—just be sure to test with a highly-accredited lab. Here are the Top 10 questions customers have about doing a paternity test while pregnant.

1) Can I do a paternity test, even if I’m pregnant?

Yes! You do not have to wait until your baby is born to determine the father.

2) Are there prenatal paternity tests available that do not pose any risk of miscarriage?

Yes! You can take a completely safe, non-invasive prenatal paternity test using a simple blood sample drawn from the mother.

3) How does the non-invasive prenatal paternity test actually work?

Due to incredible achievements in DNA science, state-of-the art laboratories using advanced technology can isolate the fetal DNA from the mother’s blood sample and match the baby’s profile to the possible father’s DNA, which is collected via saliva sample.

4) How early can I have a DNA test while pregnant?

Eight (8) weeks is the earliest to ensure enough fetal DNA is floating in your blood sample to get an accurate result.

5) Once I take the prenatal paternity test, how long does it take to get the results?

As soon as the laboratory has all of the samples, the best laboratories can turn around the results in as few as three (3) business days!

6) Can I also find out the gender of the baby as part of the prenatal paternity test?

Yes, most labs are able to provide the gender.

7) Why is it important to take a paternity test while pregnant?

The #1 reason women choose to take the test is for peace of mind. Stress is one of the risk factors when pregnant. Not knowing who the father is contributes unnecessary stress on mother and baby, leading to potential complications. Knowing ahead of time has many other benefits too including strengthening the bond between father and child, providing a medical history for your baby, and establishing legal rights. Many states require the father’s name on the birth certificate.

8) How much does it cost to take a non-invasive prenatal paternity test?

Prices vary from $800 to $1,700. The low-priced tests come from labs that do not have published research validating their methodology. Without this level of transparency, you cannot be certain of the accuracy of the test.  Frequently, these low-priced providers offer a free follow-up paternity test after the birth of the baby to limit their liability when they are wrong.

9) How can I find a reliable laboratory for a prenatal paternity test?

Go online to do your research or ask your OB/GYN, and always make sure you are dealing directly with a reputable laboratory. If the laboratory has multiple accreditations such as AABB, CAP and CLIA, that’s a good first step. Now take it one step further…is the prenatal test itself AABB-accredited? Only one company can make that claim, and that’s DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC). When DNA is collected under chain-of-custody procedure, DDC offers the first and only prenatal paternity DNA paternity test that maintains the strict AABB standards of accountability for prenatal DNA paternity testing, including analysis, PhD review, and documentation.

 10) Should I trust customer reviews about prenatal paternity tests that I read online?

Yes and no. Reputable labs with a high volume of happy customers will showcase 100+ customer reviews with actual comments, a star-rating, and the date of the comment. The labs that you need to avoid are the ones that simply offer up a few “testimonials” that could have been written by the marketing department.

LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW A PRENATAL PATERNITY TEST WORKS >

Final Thoughts

With advanced technology, it simply isn’t necessary to wait till after your baby’s born to get the answers you need. Today’s prenatal paternity tests make what once seemed impossible, possible.

Call us at 800-929-0847: We’re here to help.

Do you have questions or comments about prenatal paternity tests? Share in the comments and we’ll answer.