The DNA of the children have many clues about the information that the child will be born. These clues can be discovered and the information extracted by performing a DNA test during pregnancy. The advance of technology has yielded a DNA test of the child, even before he is born.
A DNA test is performed during pregnancy for fetal DNA testing. Among the many reasons why a DNA test of the fetus may be necessary, is proof of paternity. Other reasons include evidence of abnormalities and inherited genetic diseases. A DNA test can be done fetus during pregnancy, during the period of 10 to 24 weeks after conception. The sample collection method is different for different ages of the developing baby.
If your pregnancy is between 10 and 13 weeks after conception, the method used to collect the DNA sample is chorionic villus sampling. In this procedure, the doctor inserts a thin needle or tube, guided by ultrasound into the uterus through the vagina and cervix to obtain a sample of chorionic villi. The sample obtained will be tested.
If you are between 14 to 24 weeks of pregnancy, the method used to collect the sample from the baby will be done by amniocentesis. This procedure also involves inserting a needle into the uterus. In this procedure, the needle is guided by ultrasound and inserted through the abdomen to remove a small amount of amniotic fluid. The child’s DNA test will be conducted with this sample of fluid.
If more than 24 weeks of pregnancy, the risk of harming your baby while making the collection of the sample for the test is significant. So, doctors advise waiting until your baby is born to test. After the birth of her baby, several methods can be used to sample the baby.
When the paternity of her child is in doubt or if you want to be a hundred percent sure who the father of your child, you can perform a DNA test to confirm or deny the doubts.
If you are doing DNA testing of her fetus solely for the purpose of establishing paternity, physicians should not encourage this test before having a child. This is because the sample collection methods pose some risk to the fetus. If you wait until your baby arrives, you can safely collect samples for the baby.
Although you can perform a DNA test during pregnancy, you should weigh the risks and benefits before deciding to continue his test.