Bringing a new life into the world is usually a thing of great joy. That bundle of joy can unite families and create a greater sense of purpose.
Unfortunately, if that child is conceived in confusion or conflict, it can add stress and upset onto already strained relationships. In these circumstances, the best course of action is to gain as much clarity as possible so that all parties can move on with the correct information.
Hurt and blame on both sides
Too often a confusion over paternity can create a situation which is divisive and full of acrimony. There is hurt and blame on both sides, with accusations of lying or gaslighting. This level of conflict is neither good for the health of the pregnant woman and her unborn child, nor does it create a healthy future environment in which to bring a child into the world.
In the past, before DNA, paternity could only be investigated with blood tests. However, these were far from conclusive. If anything, it could only determine who was NOT the father. If there were still other potential candidates with the same blood type, there was no way of distinguishing one from the other.
Taking its emotional toll
The trouble is, the emotional toll that a false paternity claim can wreak on the parties involved is significant. If, as a potential father, you have sat through every ultrasound scan at the local Essex clinic, seen your child growing from the size of a kidney bean to that of a watermelon, witnessed the baby coming into the world and felt those overwhelming emotions of falling in love with it… only to have it all taken away by realising that your alleged paternity status was actually false. Even the strongest of men would be heartbroken.
Equally, as a woman convinced that she knows who the father is, and have that father repeatedly reject her claim of paternity, is a stressful situation to be in. It also has financial and legal implications with regards to future decisions that are made about the child’s welfare.
DNA accuracy a revolution
The introduction of DNA gave us a definitive opportunity to verify paternity to a 99% accuracy. If you were not the child’s father, then that probability is 0% – as black and white as you could probably ever have.
The most revolutionary advance was when prenatal DNA testing was introduced. This is a process by which the paternity of a child could be determined as early as just seven weeks into the pregnancy. The most important thing is that the process of prenatal DNA testing is that it is completely non-invasive, meaning that it does not put the unborn child in any danger at all. Instead, a blood sample is taken from the mother, and the DNA from the free floating foetal cells found in the mother’s blood is then tested against a sample of the potential father’s DNA.
The benefit of being able to determine paternity so early on in the pregnancy is that it saves unnecessary emotional pain for both parents, and it means that the legal and financial parameters concerning the welfare of the child can be stablished from the outset.
Non-judgemental
The most important aspect of prenatal testing is that it is non-judgemental and black and white in its methodology. While having a baby can be an emotive and highly charged occasion, it needs to be toned down and approached with clarity when there is uncertainty or confusion that needs sorting out. The more emotionally invested you are, the less you can take that step back and observe with clinical distance.