Prenatal DNA Testing on The Bold and the Beautiful
For some mothers, waiting until childbirth to confirm paternity would be pure mental torture. This definitely was the case for notoriously, promiscuous Amber Moore on The Bold and the Beautiful this summer. She demanded a DNA paternity test while she was in labor! This seems a little “too late”…but it is a soap opera! Unfortunately for Amber, the lab ran into some complications and the baby was born before the results were announced. To everyone’s surprise, Amber had an African-American baby which could only mean one thing – the “baby daddy” had to be Marcus Walton and not the alleged Caucasian fathers.
You might be wondering why we highlighted this B&B story. At Identigene, we acknowledge there are situations where a mother cannot wait the 9 months and needs paternity answers while carrying the baby. The main challenge is getting the DNA samples from the fetus safely. The two procedures used to test for abnormalities in developing fetuses are the same two used to collect prenatal DNA – CVS (Chronic Villus Sampling) and Amniocentesis.
CVS is where the doctor inserts a needle through the abdomen or cervix and takes a sample of the placenta tissue. It can be performed from about 10 weeks to 13 weeks pregnant.
Amniocentesis is available at about 14 weeks pregnant. In this procedure, a doctor inserts a needle through the abdomen into the uterus and takes a sample of the amniotic fluid that surrounds the fetus.
They are both considered generally safe but do carry the risks of miscarriage, infection, bleeding or cramping. According to the Mayo Clinic, the miscarriage risk for CVS is about 1 in 100. The risk increases if the needle goes in through the cervix rather than the abdominal wall. The risks are slightly less for an Amnio, which carries a miscarriage risk between 1 in 300 and 1 in 500.
If you are in this situation and cannot wait until after childbirth, please talk with your obstetrician about prenatal DNA testing.
Fatal error: Call to undefined function wp_gdsr_rating_article() in /home/dnatest/public_html/dna-testing-blog/wp-content/themes/fluid-blue/archive.php on line 113