DNA Maternal Testing

07 Jul 2017

Maternal DNA testing or maternity DNA testing is used to establish the existence of the biological relationship between mother and child. However, maternity test is somewhat different to paternity testing in that we hardly hear mention of the alleged mother, unlike in a DNA paternity test in which we always talk of “the alleged father”.

DNA Maternal testing maps the genetic profiles of the mother and the child or children to show the genes that are shared between the two. The laws of heredity make maternity testing possible because the biological mother of her child will have passed on 50% or her genes to her child at the moment of conception.

DNA maternal tests are not used very often or at least not half as often as a paternity test. The role of a mother in a child’s conception is generally indisputable whilst that of father can easily be questioned; in other words a mother is, in the vast majority of cases, sure who the father of her child is.

 When is DNA maternal testing used?

There may be the very odd case of adoption in which an adopted child seeks out their biological mother and wishes to confirm whether the alleged mother is truly the biological mother.

Mothers who have conceived by in-vitro fertilization may wish to determine whether the correct in-vitro embryo has been implanted in the uterus.

Hospital mix-ups in which a mother suspects she may have been given the wrong child. The mix-up means that either the hospital will carry out a maternity test or the mother of the child to ensure the right baby has been given to the right mother.

Maternity testing can be used for immigration purpose as part of the immigration procedure needed for a relative to join other relatives in a country in which he or she is not a citizen or legal resident. A mother living in the US may wish to have her child join her to live in the US. The immigration process will be leveraged by a maternal test which will show the proof of relationship between mother and daughter.

An immigration DNA test is not strictly part of the immigration procedure into a country. However, since many countries keep scanty and unreliable birth records and may not even have a public registry an immigration DNA test can conclusively show the proof of relationship.

DNA maternal testing is used for the reasons here mentioned; the results of such a test always give a yes or no answer and are thus, reliable and accurate.