Paternity testing during pregnancy

A non-invasive prenatal paternity test determines who the father is before the baby is born. While the mom is pregnant, the DNA profile of the baby is determined from free-floating fetal cells found in the mom’s blood sample. The baby’s profile is compared to the DNA profile of the man tested—his DNA is collected by a simple mouth swab. In situations where a mouth swab is not available, we can also process other samples including fingernail clippings, cigarette butts, ear swabs, etc for the potential father. A report is then generated to show if the man tested is or is not the biological father. 

Early in pregnancy, the baby’s DNA can be detected in the mother’s bloodstream using highly sensitive equipment. We are able to separate the fetal DNA from the mother’s DNA to create a DNA profile for the baby. We then use the baby’s profile to test the baby’s DNA against the potential father’s DNA to determine with 99.9% confidence whether he is the father.

If a Legal Test is selected, our prenatal paternity test follows a strict chain-of-custody process with the DNA sample collection witnessed, giving you legal, court-admissible paternity test results. Some people choose to collect the possible father’s DNA sample at home with just a cheek swab, in which case the results are not court-admissible because we cannot verify the DNA was collected from that man.

Prenatal paternity test DNA samples typically include a blood draw from the mother and a cheek swab from the possible father. We’ve recently added the capability to test several alternate DNA sample types for the possible father, including cigarette butts, fingernail clippings, and ear swabs. See below for more details.

We can only accept a blood sample using our DDC NIPP kits.

Speak with a member of our compassionate, knowledgeable customer service team and discover testing options and payment plans that are best for your situation.

Affirm payment options available.

Yes. We can include it on your report if you would like, for no additional charge.

“Non-invasive” means there is no need to intrude in the baby’s safe environment to test for paternity. Instead, we collect only a blood sample from the mom’s arm, and a cheek-swab sample from the father. 

No, a previous pregnancy will not affect the outcome of a non-invasive prenatal paternity test.

Yes, there are many differences. Here are the Top 3: 

1. Patient Care: Our prenatal specialists have an average of 10+ years’ experience, and guide you through testing and are available to answer questions every step of the way 
2. Testing Accuracy: DDC maintains seven (7) laboratory accreditations, reflecting our commitment to quality and accuracy. Including the Gold Standard: AABB accreditation. 
3. Full-Circle Test Management: DDC does not farm out our testing or our services. All stages of testing happen here in our state-of-the-art lab, so we have complete control over the quality of testing and services provided. 

The Certainty™ NIPP Test result compares the baby’s DNA with the DNA of the father, and if there’s a very close match, your test will read “Probability of Paternity: >99.9%”. If there is not a close match, the probability of paternity will be “0%”. Because there is always a possibility that another man could have nearly identical DNA to the true father, a paternity test result can never read “100%”. However, the results of the test are absolutely guaranteed. When your samples arrive at the lab, we process them twice by two different teams. Afterward, the results are compared to make sure they are identical. All tests are reviewed by our in-house Ph.D. DNA experts to ensure accuracy every time.