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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think all babies should be DNA tested at birth

314 replies

ohagape · 04/12/2015 10:25

After reading that awful thread in step parenting where the poor guy wasn't even his 'sons' father and handed loads of money over to the horrible sounding mother, I really think all babies should be DNA tested as soon as they are born with the potential father/s, whether from a good relationship or not.

It would save a lot of heartbreak and wasted time and money. It can easily be told by blood types. My whole life my mum told me I had a different blood type. Then when I found out at my booking bloods and told her she got really confused about my dad's blood type. I really thought my dad wasn't my dad so he went and did a DNA test to reassure me. AIBU to think this should be a routine thing at all births and father's name shouldn't be on the birth certificate until it's done?

OP posts:

BaronessEllaSaturday · 04/12/2015 11:01

How would you deal with a baby whose father wasn't present at the birth, a baby who was the result of either donor egg or sperm either officially or not or where a baby was the result of an affair and the 'father' was fully aware but didn't care? These situations all happen as well.

zoobaby · 04/12/2015 11:01

Well, I know my blood group and I know my DD's blood group. But my DP doesn't know his blood group... So maybe he needs to prove to me that he is indeed DD's dad

BoulevardOfBrokenSleep · 04/12/2015 11:03

I'm not an expert, ohagape, but from that chart above it looks like men from several blood types could father an AB- baby?

In answer to enjolrass, you could investigate that 20% figure by taking a dataset collected for another purpose (eg, DH, DS and I were all DNA tested looking for a genetic condition), and checking whether the 'paternal' DNA was actually such. Obviously you'd have to anonymise the data and get it through an ethics committee etc, but it's theoretically possible.

In answer to the OP - no way. What if, as well as confirming Fred is junior's dad, you discover junior has Huntingdon's disease? Huge privacy and ethical questions.

kungfupannda · 04/12/2015 11:03

I only know my blood group. DP can't remember and the kids have never needed to be tested.

Should I be doubting whether I'm the mother? I'm reasonably sure. I was there after all. But still.....

PennyHasNoSurname · 04/12/2015 11:03

I wouldnt want DNA taken at birth for this reason but a national DNA database would be a good idea. I genuinely believe if a would-be rapist would be less likely to offend if he knew his DNA was filed somewhere.

BumpTheElephant · 04/12/2015 11:04

YABU. It would be a massive waste of money. The vast majority of parents know who the father is without a doubt and if there is any doubt they can pay for a DNA test.
I think it would be awful to test all babies at birth. It implies women can't be trusted.

DrDreReturns · 04/12/2015 11:06

I used to work in DNA profiling. You would need (obviously) samples from the mother, putative father and the child. Then they would be profiled in the lab (it used to cost us approx £40 a sample), then interpreted by an analyst. Doing this for everyone would be hideously expensive, and in my opinion, unnecessary.
Another misconception people have is that a DNA test 'proves' paternity. It cannot definitively prove it because we can only look at a few areas of the genome (11 when I was in the field). It can categorically say someone is not the father, but it can only say something like 'the results strongly support x being the father.'

Dornan · 04/12/2015 11:07

But Penny all sorts of things about you can be determined from your DNA and how would you ensure that your data wasn't for example sold to insurance companies?

Preciousxbane · 04/12/2015 11:09

Well I was brought up to believe my stepfather was my real Dad, then I went to school and the fact I'm mixed race and was teased was a give away. My Mother is a fucking idiot to not think that's a bit of a give away. Then I assumed I was adopted and I didn't find out who my real Dad was till I was 13, unfortunately for me she is my actual birth Mother. I don't need to watch Jeremy Kyle I have lived in it.

Even after that experience I don't support this.

FadedRed · 04/12/2015 11:11

Yy to pp's re not trusting women to be honest!
The insurance industry would just love this - no insurance/mortgage/job for someone who might show the possibility of getting X disease at Y age.
Also try searching for 'Lydia Fairchild', she's an American woman whose DNA does not match the children she gave birth to!

DrDreReturns · 04/12/2015 11:11

But Penny all sorts of things about you can be determined from your DNA and how would you ensure that your data wasn't for example sold to insurance companies?
DNA profiling for forensics uses non coding areas of the genome - so called 'junk' DNA. They have no bearing on any medical conditions etc. That information would be useless for insurance companies.

sparechange · 04/12/2015 11:11

What about IVF babies, or those conceived with donor eggs or sperm?
Would you test them as well?
Where would you find the money to pay for these tests? It is several hundreds of pounds per test

Enjolrass · 04/12/2015 11:11

My blood type is AB rhesus negative so my father could have only been one type and my mum was adamant he wasn't that so basically told me he couldn't possibly be my father. So no, it's not irrational

questioning it isn't irrational. It getting to the point where you and your dad had a DNA test, is.

You said your mum was confused in your first post not adamant.

It simple

You 'dad can't be that blood type as I am'

Mum - 'I am sure he is'

You 'well is he definitely my dad?'

Mum - 'yes of course!'

You - 'well then you are wrong...let's ask dad'

End of conversation.

And your dad could have done blood typing in your situation if he could only be one blood type. He didn't need a DNA test.

If you and your Dad had to have a DNA test to put your mind at rest, rather than your mum just being wrong....is irrational.

How many people actually believe their dad isn't theirs because there mum has got blood type wrong?

DrDreReturns · 04/12/2015 11:12

And the paternity test uses the same DNA profiling as the forensics when I was involved in it.

We3KingyOfOblomovAre · 04/12/2015 11:12

Ridiculous. The minority who need this have more problems than just this!

squoosh · 04/12/2015 11:13

God no.

What a ridiculous waste of money it would be. Very Big Brother-ish too.

Snowglobe18 · 04/12/2015 11:13

I think this is a crazy idea.

Enjolrass · 04/12/2015 11:14

My mum was certain he couldn't scientifically be my dad due to my blood type and didn't deny the possibility of him not being my father

So mistaking his blood type had nothing to do with it. She knew there was 2 potential fathers then?

No way did she know she hadn't slept with anyone else and question it because of what she thought his blood type was.

OneFlewOverTheDodosNest · 04/12/2015 11:16

I think it's a fantastic idea OP - we can welcome babies to the world whilst, at the same time, setting the scene that all women are lying bitches.

Oh and it won't cost too much - 700,000 babies born in the UK each year, £40 for a DNA test, but let's pretend that there'll be cost savings so we'll say £20 a time. So that's £14million a year on doing an unnecessary test on new born babies that simultaneously worries the father and offends the mother. Yep, sounds like a great idea.

DrDreReturns · 04/12/2015 11:18

No £40 for each sample! You need three samples, so that's £120, then you have to pay the analyst to interpret it. More like £200, probably £300 per test.

femfortheday · 04/12/2015 11:20

Since when does being a parent have to be about blood? My BIL has a different biological father to DH. They both have the same dad though. Reducing parenting down to biology is offensive. If you unknowingly raised a child that wasn't biologically yours, you would've to be a very cold person to mostly be upset about the money.

toomuchtooold · 04/12/2015 11:21

Christ, the NHS genetics services have more important things to do than this! If they're suddenly short on work to do they could offer karyotyping to women having 2 consecutive miscarriages (rather than waiting till 3, as they do now) or offer CF screening for couples TTC. And that's just off the top of my head. Bloody paternity testing.

BoomBoomsCousin · 04/12/2015 11:23

If we make sure we have all men's DNA in a database so the father can be identified then this makes logical sense, because then it's about ensuring children know who their genetic parents are. Though hugely expensive and unlikely to be worth the costs at present.

Otherwise it's a way to increase suspicion between couples and inhibit the natural bonding between father and child by pushing a socially constructed hurdle to acknowledging family.

squoosh · 04/12/2015 11:24

I can't see why the state would even care. It's not a health issue.

OneFlewOverTheDodosNest · 04/12/2015 11:26

Bloody hell, ok so £140million for DNA testing each year - clearly a priority when the NHS budget is under so much pressure.

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