Paternity Test Answers

Over the last two blogs we have investigated some of the effects of fatherless families.

The research and statistics on these subjects is plentiful. The benefit of raising children with a present father is certain. Too often children raised without a father repeat the cycle for the next generation.

Researchers and father advocates believe father involvement needs to start as early as birth and especially before age 5 for the cycle to begin to break. Early in development, children also benefit from a “village” – Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, clergy, teachers, doctors, health professionals, and school staff can supplement parental support and become positive role models and mentors for this generation and those to come.

Establishing paternity can be a step to reducing poverty. Why? Statistics show that two working parents raise household income levels and therefore are better able to afford basic needs like shelter, food, and clothing.

How much money is necessary for meeting these simple requirements? Food alone can be $400 or more a month (for those of us who are NOT extreme couponers). Add in rent, thrift shop clothing, transportation to work, utilities, insurance–not to mention the childcare bill—and the monthly bills can seem overwhelming. At minimum wage, TWO paychecks are needed to make this formula work–and even then it could be a strain!

For a one-child household, the government considers them as living in “poverty” if income is less than $15,030 or $17,568 if there are two children. Remember…this is gross income. Establishing paternity gives a child a better chance of escaping the poverty point. Hopefully, the biological father will concede to paying child support or possibly the courts can order wage garnishment. In case you are wondering, the 2010 Census Bureau states that the average income of a two person family household is $72,751, while the average income of a single mother household is $32,031. It also stated that in 2010, there were 46.2 million people living in poverty.

Fathers are an important part of the family equation – not only for emotional support, love and guidance but for financial stability as well.

At Identigene, we often hear that a DNA paternity test helped bring a family together—a very rewarding outcome for our team. With 41% of babies born out of wedlock today, I am curious to find out more information about the challenges faced by children raised without a father.
I found some startling facts at www.thisistheedge.org, a non-profit organization that addresses emotional problems in school age children and helps them build greater emotional awareness.
• Preschoolers living without their biological father are 40 times more likely to be a victim of child abuse.
• Girls from fatherless homes are 111% (over 2X) more likely to have unwed pregnancy.
• 70% of juveniles in state reform institutions grew up in father-absent homes.
• 85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes.
• Girls from fatherless homes are 92% (nearly 2X) more likely to divorce.
• A child living with his/her divorced mother, compared to a child living with both parents, is 375% more likely to need professional treatment for emotional or behavioral problems is almost twice as likely to repeat a grade of school, is more likely to suffer chronic asthma, frequent headaches, and/or bedwetting, develop a stammer or speech defect, suffer from anxiety or depression, and be diagnosed as hyperactive.

Just because a child is raised by a single mother doesn’t mean that he or she will experience these same issues. An old African proverb says, “It takes a village to raise a child”. How true is this? Single moms work hard and stay strong for their kids. As family, friends and community members, we can help by taking an interest and watching for early warning signs of a child in distress. Everyone benefits when children are healthier!
The American Academy of Pediatrics provides tips for recognizing signs of behavioral and emotional issues in children ages birth to 21. Check out their informative website, www.healthychildren.org.

Have you ever heard the term “Heinz 57” when it comes to your ethnic background? If you are like me, you have heard it all your life as an explanation for your nationality. It simply means that you are a “good mix” of ethnicities or more specifically, at some point in your heritage, a “full-blooded” relative deviated from the norm and produced a child with someone outside his/her nationality… and so on, and so on.

DNA

It is thought that our ancient ancestors originated from Africa and began migrating throughout the world and adapted to new environments, thus creating distinct groups and subgroups in our DNA lineage. These ancient ancestral groupings are known as haplogroups. It is these haplogroups that allow DNA laboratories to provide people with results on their ethnic origins.
Our sister company, Sorenson Genomics, has developed a new DNA test dubbed World Wide Ancestry. World Wide Ancestry offers improved technology, enabling anyone to find answers to questions about their earliest family origins. The Sorenson Genomics team has spoken about this new technology at recent industry conferences. It will be available for purchase early next year.
The wonders of DNA never cease to amaze me. My paternity can be determined with a few cheek swabs in a matter of hours. Now, with new science breakthroughs, my DNA will provide surprising detail about my ancient relatives. I can’t wait to share test results with my mom!

DNA Paternity Testing

You’ve sent in your samples now for the results….We’ve received some excellent questions recently about reading Identigene’s Results Statement. We want you to trust and feel confident that you understand the wording of the Results Statement.

According to accreditation guidelines, Identigene is required to word the results statement a certain way. Unfortunately, we cannot deliver the results with the exact words “You ARE the father” or “You are NOT the father”.

To simplify the statement, please look at the formula below:

“John Doe (insert alleged father’s name) is excluded as the biological father of James Doe (insert child’s name) = “YOU ARE NOT THE FATHER”.

OR

“John Doe is not excluded as the biological father of James Doe” = “YOU ARE THE FATHER”.

Secondly, the results statement will provide DNA profiles for further explanation. Remember, this is the data that our laboratory used to determine the results – “excluded” or “not excluded” or simply “you are not the father” or “you are the father”. The cheek cells provide our laboratory with a set of DNA markers (up to 15). These markers are used for identifying individuals. The “locus” or marker location shows two alleles (numbers) for each person tested. These numbers represent a “gene” that has genetically passed down to the person – one from the biological mother and one from the biological father.

According to genetics, a child MUST have one matching number to the father in each “locus”. In some cases, there are natural mutations where the child has a slightly higher or lower value than the father but these are rare. *If the alleged father is “excluded” aka “not the father”, they might have sharing numbers in certain “loci” (the singular form of locus) but to be determined the biological father, they would need to have sharing numbers in EACH loci.

At the end of the results statement, you will see a Combined Percentage Index (CPI). This number needs to be 100 or greater to be determined the biological father. When the percentage is 100 or greater, the probability (scientific chance) that you are the father will be 99% or greater.

Identigene recommends submitting the mother’s cheek swabs along with the child and alleged father’s check swabs. This helps strengthen the probability of paternity if there happens to be natural mutations in the DNA alleles of the child.

If for some reason Identigene has questions about your results, they will contact you and send you additional swabs for free so that you can resubmit your test swabs.

We hope this helps simplify and summarize your results statement. As always, please feel free to call us at 1-888-404-GENE.

Happy Thanksgiving! Today, America has President Abraham Lincoln to “thank” for proclaiming a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November. Traditionally, Thanksgiving is a day for families to gather together and share a feast celebrating the simplicity of family and the gratitude they possess. Although Lincoln is responsible for declaring November as the month for this U.S. holiday, some scholars debate the legitimacy of his family – specifically his paternity.

Since the 19th century, scholars have questioned who fathered Lincoln. Reasons fueling this debate include: The overall size and facial feature differences of President Lincoln when compared to his alleged father, Thomas Lincoln. The opposing intelligence levels shared between the two. Lincoln’s reserved nature when talking about his childhood and most convincingly, the rumor that there was another man involved with Lincoln’s mother Nancy Hanks.

One story suggests, Abram Enloe, a wealthy mountain man, took in an orphan named Nancy Hanks to be his family servant. While working for Enloe, Hanks became pregnant and delivered a baby boy, naming him Abraham. The similarity in the alleged father and child’s first names aides this rumor of questionable paternity. Further supporting the theory, there are photos that depict the physical resemblances between the two as well as biographers that argue Lincoln’s birth record was falsified so that the illegitimate pregnancy would be covered up.

Because of the questions surrounding Lincoln’s paternity, author William E. Barton wrote a book entitled The Paternity of Abraham Lincoln. In this book, he mentions seven possible fathers for Lincoln but rejects them all in favor of Thomas Lincoln. His main argument supporting Thomas Lincoln as the father was an official marriage certificate found that places the wedding date three years prior to Abraham Lincoln’s birth. Historians have also noted the possibility of two women sharing the same first and last names during this particular time period and further question whether or not Lincoln’s mother was ever a family servant for Enloe.

The argument surrounding President Lincoln’s paternity is an “unsolved mystery”. It will probably be up for debate for eternity unless someone decides to rely on more than what they have previously to date – can anyone say DNA?

If you keep up with entertainment news, you frequently hear about celebrity marriage scandals. The newest one, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. Demi filed for divorce last week. Her decision follows rumors about Ashton’s infidelity and specifically US Weekly’s story where the alleged mistress, Sara Leal, spoke out on their recent sexual encounter. The interview revealed that Kutcher and Leal didn’t use protection. If true…why? What next? A paternity suit? A few marriage and infidelity statistics for thought:

30%-60% of all married individuals in the U.S. will cheat during some part of their marriage*. (This research was completed almost 15 years ago, the numbers are probably higher.) *Buss, D. M., & Shackelford, T. K. (1997). Susceptibility to infidelity in the first year of marriage. Journal of Research in Personality, 31, 193-221.

If you’re married under 30, you are more likely to cheat. *Wall Street Journal, Young and Restless

More than 41% of all children are born out of wedlock. * U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services Dec ’10 Nat’l Vital Statistics Report

2% to 3% of all children are the product of infidelity. *Anderson, K. G. (2006). How well does paternity confidence match actual paternity? Evidence from worldwide nonpaternity rates. Current Anthropology 48, in
press.

Let’s see…who do you think has fathered the most children? Adam Chandler from ABC’s All My Children or Jim Bob Dugger from 19 Kids and Counting (Soon to be 20 Kids and Counting).

Not even close! Jim Bob Dugger wins this prize! However, Adam Chandler’s number was 9. He fathered the most children on recently canceled, 40 year run, All My Children according to New York magazine writer Willa Paskin. She published a clever timeline detailing the marriages, divorces, affairs and resurrections on the Soap. Check it out here: http://images.nymag.com/arts/articles/11/09/all-my-children/nymag_amc09262011.pdf

Just for fun:
In 42 seasons and 10,712 episodes, AMC had these pregnancy stats: One in three pregnancies ended in miscarriage, half ended in live birth, and one in four ended in infant death. I guess the writers for AMC never thought they could catch the reader’s attention having one man father 19 happy, healthy kids like Jim Bob Dugger and now 1 more on the way! Congrats!

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.

Talk shows aren’t the only places on TV that get the audience roused up with questions of identity. Soap operas incorporate DNA testing all the time.

This month, there’s trouble in Salem surrounding Dr. Daniel Jonas’ identity. It started with Maggie’s stolen eggs from a bogus medical storage facility. Unbeknownst to her, her eggs were implanted into another female associated with the Days of Our Lives family. Sweet Alice, now deceased, had done some investigating years ago and planned to inform Maggie of her discovery but never did. The pieces are quickly put together and Maggie realizes Dr. Daniel is her son but he demands a DNA test to prove her maternity. Guess what – It’s a match! All these new revelations might brew up paternity questions too! You could see Days exhume Daniel’s dead dad’s body to possibly reveal he isn’t the father and it is really Victor (Maggie’s new husband)! You can only imagine the drama that will come….it wasn’t too long ago that Daniel himself was proving he wasn’t Chloe’s baby’s daddy.

Just in case this storyline drew up some questions in your mind, we tried to think of some for you and provide the answers.

Can you use the Identigene DNA Paternity test to prove maternity? Yes. You can use the same drugstore kit. We compare and match the genetic profile of the child and the alleged mother the same as we do for an alleged father.

Why do people store eggs and embryos? It is necessary to harvest several eggs for IVF treatment because the more eggs you can harvest the greater chance you have for fertilization success. In some cases, a couple may decide to freeze some of their fertilized embryos for future use. Causes like woman’s age, specific infertility issues pertaining to the couple, as well as the woman’s past history of pregnancy can influence this decision.

What is IVF? The process of fertilization by manually combining an egg and sperm in a laboratory dish. When it is successful (fertilization occurs and the developmental process begins), the process is combined with embryo transfer, physically placing the embryo in the uterus.