Paternity Test Answers

Statistics show fewer people are marrying, contributing to an increase in fatherless homes. http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/13/9425241-where-is-mr-or-mrs-right-matrimony-suffers-slump-report-shows

Historically, Americans relied on religious leaders to guide lifestyle choices and behavior. Some churches have recently reasserted themselves in the area of fatherhood, urging men to step up to fatherhood responsibilities. I saw an interesting YouTube video related to this trend. The video shows an interview with three people that came from homes with absent fathers. Each of the interviewees has made it their life’s goal to not allow this to happen to the children in their lives, whether they are biologically linked or not. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVbB93iVnVs

I find this series fascinating because these individuals have turned past hurt into a motivator to help others avoid the same hurt. These are stories of people striving for a better outcome.

*Posting this video or blog is not a reflection of support for any organization or individual; it is for informative purposes only.

Many reading this might be parenting a teenager, and others have already been through the experience or are looking forward to this milestone. There are many choices that parents make when setting boundaries for their children when it comes to relationships. As a mom of a tween, I already see the challenges ahead.

It is always interesting to hear real stories of parents who thought they were doing everything right and then are “blindsided” when their teen informs them of a pregnancy. Bishop T.D. Jakes, pastor of a Dallas mega church, has shared his memories of the time that his 14-year old daughter came to him with the shocking news she was going to have a baby. What this story revealed to America was that it can happen to anyone, even when traditional values are preached every day. This story is an encouraging one for parents who are faced with this difficult situation. Bishop Jakes’ daughter defied the odds, raising her child as a single mother, graduating college and later marrying. When asked what she would tell her son about her story, she said that she would be honest and communicate the blessing he was to her life but also describe that having a child as a teenager definitely made life more difficult. She would also add that if he waited, he could have “everything in life at its right time”.

Bishop Jakes and his daughter evade the question of involvement by the biological father.

To watch the interview click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjaem4oqcDo

*Posting this video or blog is not a reflection of support for any organization or individual; it is for informative purposes only.

A recent news article stated one in 6 teen moms didn’t think they could become pregnant. http://news.yahoo.com/1-6-teen-moms-didnt-believe-could-pregnant-202403188.html.

Can you think back to when you were a teenager? I think I would have been grouped into the “clueless club”. Do you also remember where you got your information about relationships, sex and STDs? I mostly remember it coming from school and my peers. If my parents mentioned it, I probably told them to stop or my embarrassment tuned them out!

I don’t think that tweens and teens today are much different than 20 years ago. If you have children in this age range, you have probably witnessed their embarrassment when you talk to them about these sensitive subjects. So who do they listen to if they aren’t comfortable hearing it from us? Peers, teachers, social media sites, TV or radio? I’m willing to say “ALL THE ABOVE”.

A day in the life of a tween or teen is spent mostly in a controlled classroom and then when the bell rings, the ITouches, MP3 players, and cell phones turn on! They sing in the car, text their friends, watch music videos on YouTube and follow their favorite artists on Facebook.

If you keep up with American Top 40, you know that Rihanna, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, LMFAO, and Flo Rida are the most popular this week. Do you feel these artists have a responsibility to think about the younger generation “learning” from their lyrics? There has been much Twitter talk about Jay-Z censoring his lyrics now that he has had a baby. The audience is split – some support the rumors that he will alter his lyrics and others don’t want his music to get “soft”. Recently, HBO actor and upcoming rapper, Tray Chaney released a song entitled “Fatherhood”. In the lyrics he says, “I’d rather die than be that guy”. He wants more young adults to understand the meaning of fatherhood and seriousness surrounding their paternity responsibilities. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJfaDhrM4k4

Basically, the opening statistic should motivate us to keep conversations open, often and real with our youth. The library has many books on the human body, human sexuality and pregnancy and childbirth. The American Academy of Pediatrics is also a good place to start. Good luck to us all! Knowledge is power. http://www.healthychildren.org/english/ages-stages/teen/dating-sex/Pages/default.aspx

If you have ever given birth to a child, you know that the whole birthing process becomes a little “fuzzy” as the years go by. You forget the pain of childbirth, the intense worry that something is wrong with your new baby, or your extreme fear of taking the baby for its first car seat ride. Well, you don’t forget, but it somehow seems a little “rosier” and the majority will go on to have at least one more child.

To get a little personal, I had only been married for about 2 years and was 24 years old when I became pregnant (not planned). I quickly embraced my little growing bundle of joy and I thought my husband was “jogging along” right beside me. After I delivered my sweet baby girl, my husband asked the nurse, “What is her blood type?” It was B and he knew mine was O. He then mused, “I wonder what mine is?” The nurse quickly replied, “Well you better hope it’s B”. At the time, I laughed at his innocence but now when I look back, I think of what an awkward moment that would have been if there was a reason to question paternity.

Doctors we have spoken with at professional conferences say that they frequently hear this question after delivery. They interpret it as “possible paternity doubt”. In our business, we know that paternity doubts are real and according to our last survey, 1 in 10 Americans question paternity.

Blood type is a very important thing to know for many reasons aside from paternity questions. Most importantly, donating blood saves lives. If you are lucky enough to be O-, you have a universal blood type and can donate to any other blood type. AB blood types are universal donors of plasma, which is often used in pediatric emergencies. You can find out more about donating blood at http://www.redcrossblood.org/

Also, here’s a simple genetic flowchart that illustrates possible blood types and combinations passed down from biological parents to their children. http://bloodbook.com/inherited.html

Is “Saving a Life” on your New Year’s resolution list like it was for Michelle Pfeiffer’s character in the recently released “New Year’s Eve” blockbuster? I thought this storyline in the movie was quite entertaining. Zac Efron thought outside the box and made sure Pfeiffer’s resolutions came true in just 24 hours. One of the resolutions that intrigued me was the twist on “Saving a Life”. Efron takes Pfeiffer to a pet adoption center and she adopts a little mixed breed puppy. If you have a rescue dog, you remember how good it felt to give your pet another chance to live. Some owners would even argue that rescue dogs know that they have been “saved” and behave accordingly.

Now how in the world does this relate to DNA? Well, it might be because I work for Identigene and I have become obsessed with DNA! But the movie got me thinking about my dog’s life. I’ve never tested her DNA, but I know common health problems for her breed include hip dysplasia, tumors, thyroid problems and bloat. Knowing these facts helps me decide what food and veterinary care I give her. What if you were like Pfeiffer and didn’t know your pet’s true breed or combination of breeds? There is DNA testing for mixed breed animals that answers these questions for some of the same reasons people seek out DNA testing.

Ahhh, now we’re back to paternity testing. Health and wellness are important benefits of paternity testing. If a child knows both of their biological parents, he/she can be aware of the family health history. Heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer and many other conditions can be linked to heredity. Knowledge is empowering. If we know our family’s health history, we can take preventative measures or make lifestyle changes to improve health and wellness.

Check out WebMD’s slideshow of the top 25 dog breeds and their most common health problems. http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/ss/slideshow-dog-breed-health-problems

Identigene always appreciates hearing how our product changed a family’s life for the better. Guess what? Others do too! Your paternity story could help another family trying to make the difficult decision of whether or not to pursue paternity testing. If you or another family member has benefited from the Identigene DNA Paternity Test Kit, please consider sharing your story with us. Simply leave a reply on this blog post with your contact information and someone from our office will contact you. Thanks in advance. We look forward to hearing from you very soon.

Last week, Barbara Walters named Apple founder, Steve Jobs, “Most Fascinating Person of the Year”. His career success is one-of-a-kind. It is said that the only two things in Steve’s life were Apple and family. “He avoided making commitments to anything else because he knew that the commitment to something else would detract from his time at Apple or his time at home. And he simply was not going to do that. He cared so much about his family. And he cared so much about his company”, said Disney president and CEO Bob Iger. After Jobs death, I learned that his daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs, was born without knowing her father. It wasn’t until later in her life that he acknowledged paternity. Once he did, she lived with him for a few years in her teens and he financially supported her education at Harvard. They became very close. Steve also had three other children.

This story is a hopeful one. There are many children in America that want more than anything to have a relationship with their father. Best case scenario, once paternity is proven, the father stands up like Steve Jobs and embraces his responsibility emotionally and financially. While most children won’t suddenly have a multi-millionaire for a father, we believe having someone to share special memories and provide financial and emotional support is a huge step in the right direction for the welfare of a child.

“The law should stand for truth” stated Paulette Alston when interview by WRAL-TV in North Carolina. http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3531564/

Many fathers are willing to pay child support, trusting the assertion that they are the father of a child. States in the U.S. do not require a DNA paternity test before determining child support payments. In fact, most states have laws in place that impose time limits on submitting DNA evidence that would overturn a child support ruling. These laws have been the source of much debate. Many fathers don’t begin questioning paternity until years after the court determines child support payments. Can you imagine regularly donating to a charity that you later find out is stealing your money and not using it for what it was intended? I imagine this is what some fathers feel when they find out they may have been deceived by a woman that has known all along there could be a chance he is not the biological father.

Fathers have formed communities and support groups. Many can be found online. With divorce rates increasing and so many fathers living in non-paternity situations, there is a growing demand for peer support. There are also legal firms that specialize in father’s rights and paternity issues.

If you find yourself in this situation help is available. Just go to your favorite search engine and type in “fathers support group”.

*A survey was conducted online with a random sample of 1039 men and women aged 18+, all members of the Impulse Research proprietary online panel. The Impulse Research proprietary online panel closely matches US population demographics and the respondents are representative of men and women aged 18+. Research was conducted in December 2011. The overall sampling error rate for this survey is +/-3% at the 95% rate of confidence.

The survey, which was commissioned by Identigene, the largest direct-to-consumer DNA paternity testing laboratory and makers of the Identigene DNA Paternity Test, reveals that more than one in ten (11 percent) adults ages 18 years and older said they have personally been in a situation where a paternity test was appropriate, and nearly one in five (18 percent) said that they or a close friend or family member have questioned paternity. 

The results of the survey help to uncover the prevalence of paternity questions in the U.S., as well as adults’ intentions to identify biological fathers in the New Year. Fifty-one percent of adults with paternity questions either plan to address their question in 2012 or would like to, but are not sure where to start. Men with paternity questions are twice as likely (51  percent) than women (25 percent) to address paternity in 2012.

New Year Prompts Action

The research helps to confirm a trend Identigene has noticed since it launched the Identigene DNA Paternity Test in retail pharmacies in 2007. Each year the company experiences a spike in first quarter sales, something it attributes, in part, to New Year’s resolutions.

“The new year definitely seems to trigger many adults with paternity questions to take steps to address their question,” says Steven Smith, executive director for Identigene. “We want adults with paternity issues to know they are not alone and there are many others looking for answers, too. But most importantly, it’s vital for them to know that addressing a paternity question is not only a responsible step to take, but a thoughtful and caring decision, as determining paternity can provide many valuable benefits for all involved.”

Why Knowing Is Important

Although the specific reasoning for paternity testing varies from person to person, the benefits of confirming paternity are multifaceted and far reaching. In the survey, three in four adults (77 percent) said they believe it’s important for a child to know their biological father. From emotional and health benefits to financial welfare, paternity answers can have many important and positive impacts for children. “Knowledge is empowering,” says Smith. “It’s important for children and families to know the truth about paternity, as it can impact a child’s health as well as their emotional health and well-being
for years to come.”

“You are NOT the father”! Words you can hear with the exact tone and inflection in the back of your mind when you think of paternity testing. So what happens when you find out you are NOT the father? If you have been living under the same roof and raising the child in question, you probably aren’t feeling too happy to hear this news. The same goes for responsible fathers paying child support to a child that is not biologically theirs. The deception and pain is unimaginable.

How many people knew this but you? How could your partner allow this to happen? What to do from here? Wow! A lot to think about! Several researchers peg the non-paternity rate (the percent of men who think they are the biological father, but in reality are not) at 10% worldwide. So that means 1 in every 10 fathers is not really the biological father. An interesting statistic is that if a man wonders about his paternity and decides to take a paternity test, 29% of the time he will find his suspicions confirmed. This means that 3 of every 10 men who have a paternity doubt are not the biological father.

Source: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/504167

The message here is that men who question paternity should have a paternity test. The sooner the better. After the child is born, a simple cheek swab from an infant, along with the alleged father’s cheek swab, is all that is needed to answer this important question.

A few of the many reasons paternity tests are important:
1. Sense of Identity – a child knowing to whom they are biologically linked
2. Health History – hereditary factors influence preventative health measures
3. Financial support – many households require two incomes to keep up with the cost of living
4. Benefits – health insurance, social security and veteran benefits benefit biological children
5. Government Aid – Paternity allows parents to seek government assistance if they qualify.