Who's the daddy?

[Guest]

Source

Up to one in 25 dads could unknowingly be raising another man's child, UK health researchers estimate.

Increasing use of genetic testing for medical and legal reasons means more couples are discovering the biological proof of who fathered the child.

The Liverpool John Moores University team reached its estimate based on research findings published between 1950 and 2004.

The study appears in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Professor Mark Bellis and his team said that the implications of so-called paternal discrepancy were huge and largely ignored, even though the incidence was increasing.

In the US, the number of paternity tests increased from 142,000 in 1991 to 310,490 in 2001.

Demand for testing has grown by a factor of 10 in the last decade in the UK, according to University Diagnostics, Teddington.

The current level in the UK is somewhere between 8,900 and 20,000 tests per year.

About 5,000 of these tests are instigated at the demand of the Child Support Agency to resolve who should be paying child maintenance.

Others are done to investigate inherited health disorders and others for social reasons.

The Liverpool team found that rates of cases where a father was not the biological father of his child ranged from 1% in some studies to as much as 30%.

Experts have generally agreed that the rate is below 10%, with a 4% rate meaning that about one in 25 families could be affected.

However, increasing use of genetic testing is likely to boost the rates of paternal discrepancy, say the authors.

Professor Bellis said the consequences of a man finding out that he is not the biological father of a child could be devastating.

It can lead to relationship breakdown, mental health problems for both partners and even domestic violence, while the children involved can experience low self-esteem and anxiety.

He said services and support should be available to minimise such negative consequences.

However, even basic counselling is not always provided - some individuals order and receive test results by email or over a web site, he said.

"Vital information is being delivered to people without very much thought about how it is going to affect them," he said.

Rebecca Webster, a counsellor for private paternity testing company DNA Bioscience, who speaks to about 500 men each month about such decisions, said: "We will raise the issue about whether they have thought about the consequences both for them and all those involved.

"Very often they are quite distressed and they want someone to talk to.

"By the time they get the results a lot of people have prepared themselves. But it's a very emotional process, even if the result is the one they wanted.

"In an ideal world, everyone should have counselling and it should be available on the NHS. Unfortunately, it's not."

Adrienne Burgess of Fathers Direct called for a code of practice to ensure companies providing paternity tests also offer counselling.

The NSPCC said fathers who find out they have been raising another man's child should remember that however angry they feel, they should not take this out on the child in any way.

"The child will still regard the parent as their father. Rejection could be a devastating double blow for the child, " said a spokeswoman.

Shocking!

[Thracian]

Source

Up to one in 25 dads could unknowingly be raising another man's child, UK health researchers estimate.

Increasing use of genetic testing for medical and legal reasons means more couples are discovering the biological proof of who fathered the child.

The Liverpool John Moores University team reached its estimate based on research findings published between 1950 and 2004.

The study appears in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Professor Mark Bellis and his team said that the implications of so-called paternal discrepancy were huge and largely ignored, even though the incidence was increasing.

In the US, the number of paternity tests increased from 142,000 in 1991 to 310,490 in 2001.

Demand for testing has grown by a factor of 10 in the last decade in the UK, according to University Diagnostics, Teddington.

The current level in the UK is somewhere between 8,900 and 20,000 tests per year.

About 5,000 of these tests are instigated at the demand of the Child Support Agency to resolve who should be paying child maintenance.

Others are done to investigate inherited health disorders and others for social reasons.

The Liverpool team found that rates of cases where a father was not the biological father of his child ranged from 1% in some studies to as much as 30%.

Experts have generally agreed that the rate is below 10%, with a 4% rate meaning that about one in 25 families could be affected.

However, increasing use of genetic testing is likely to boost the rates of paternal discrepancy, say the authors.

Professor Bellis said the consequences of a man finding out that he is not the biological father of a child could be devastating.

It can lead to relationship breakdown, mental health problems for both partners and even domestic violence, while the children involved can experience low self-esteem and anxiety.

He said services and support should be available to minimise such negative consequences.

However, even basic counselling is not always provided - some individuals order and receive test results by email or over a web site, he said.

"Vital information is being delivered to people without very much thought about how it is going to affect them," he said.

Rebecca Webster, a counsellor for private paternity testing company DNA Bioscience, who speaks to about 500 men each month about such decisions, said: "We will raise the issue about whether they have thought about the consequences both for them and all those involved.

"Very often they are quite distressed and they want someone to talk to.

"By the time they get the results a lot of people have prepared themselves. But it's a very emotional process, even if the result is the one they wanted.

"In an ideal world, everyone should have counselling and it should be available on the NHS. Unfortunately, it's not."

Adrienne Burgess of Fathers Direct called for a code of practice to ensure companies providing paternity tests also offer counselling.

The NSPCC said fathers who find out they have been raising another man's child should remember that however angry they feel, they should not take this out on the child in any way.

"The child will still regard the parent as their father. Rejection could be a devastating double blow for the child, " said a spokeswoman.

   

Shocking!

154637[/snapback]

Women! You just can't trust em.

[stez]

indeed! chicks eh?

[Thracian]

indeed! chicks eh?

155075[/snapback]

How on earth do they get out of the kitchen so easily?

[davieG]

I'm the Daddie my Avatar says so

[rossporterlc]

thats only 4%, no biggie

[davieG]

40% of those tested find they are NOT the father

NOW MORE MEN ASK: WHO'S THE DADDY?

BY HANNAH DAVIES

10:30 - 21 June 2005 - Leicester Mercury

One in seven babies are being paternity tested because more and more men do not believe they are the real father.

Growing numbers of men are carrying out paternity tests on youngsters because they doubt their partner's faithfulness.

New figures have revealed that 1,238 city children are tested every year - that's 14 per cent of babies born at Leicester's hospitals.

Some 500 dads will discover they are not the biological father.

The number of tests have increased tenfold in the past decade and are continuing to rise at an annual rate of 11 per cent.

Leicester is now fifth in a table of the top 10 cities for paternity testing, behind London, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham.

ITV shows such as Trisha and Jerry Springer, which often feature DNA tests, have contributed to the rise.

The figures were released by DNA Biosciences, which is one of the country's Government-approved paternity-testing companies.

The firm's managing director, Avi Lasarow, said: "Paternity testing is a rapidly-growing market, partly because births outside marriage have grown by more than 10 per cent in the past decade.

"Relationships between child-bearing couples are becoming more informal and temporary, which means paternity issues are likely to arise more frequently.

"The Trisha show highlights the fact that these tests are readily available. Of those who do conduct tests, 40 per cent will discover they are not biological fathers."

Up to 20,000 paternity tests are conducted annually across the country.

DNA Biosciences conducts many tests for the Child Support Agency, but others come direct from suspicious dads who contact the firm to order home DNA testing kits.

The kits cost £189 and involve taking swabs from the mouths of the father and the child, which are then posted off for analysis. They are 100 per cent accurate.

A spokeswoman for relationship counselling charity Relate, which has a branch in Leicester, said a couple would find it hard to repair the damage a test could cause.

She said: "If someone finds out he is not the real father of a child he has the pleasure of knowing he was right not to trust his partner, but that is completely counteracted by the devastation of knowing the child he loves and cherishes is not his own flesh and blood.

"This represents a massive breach of trust, particularly if a person has been lied to for many years. It would take a very forgiving man to make a relationship work after this."

The Rev Canon Richard Atkinson, Archdeacon of Leicester, said: "The Christian church sees faithfulness within marriage as one of the essential building blocks of a healthy society.

"The evidence that this is being eroded is particularly sad for the well-being of our children and family life."

[stez]

I'm the Daddie my Avatar says so 

155082[/snapback]

careful davieg; statements like that could have the csa knocking on your door

[Thracian]

40% of those tested find they are NOT the father 

NOW MORE MEN ASK: WHO'S THE DADDY?

BY HANNAH DAVIES

10:30 - 21 June 2005 - Leicester Mercury

One in seven babies are being paternity tested because more and more men do not believe they are the real father.

Growing numbers of men are carrying out paternity tests on youngsters because they doubt their partner's faithfulness.

New figures have revealed that 1,238 city children are tested every year - that's 14 per cent of babies born at Leicester's hospitals.

Some 500 dads will discover they are not the biological father.

The number of tests have increased tenfold in the past decade and are continuing to rise at an annual rate of 11 per cent.

Leicester is now fifth in a table of the top 10 cities for paternity testing, behind London, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham.

ITV shows such as Trisha and Jerry Springer, which often feature DNA tests, have contributed to the rise.

The figures were released by DNA Biosciences, which is one of the country's Government-approved paternity-testing companies.

The firm's managing director, Avi Lasarow, said: "Paternity testing is a rapidly-growing market, partly because births outside marriage have grown by more than 10 per cent in the past decade.

"Relationships between child-bearing couples are becoming more informal and temporary, which means paternity issues are likely to arise more frequently.

"The Trisha show highlights the fact that these tests are readily available. Of those who do conduct tests, 40 per cent will discover they are not biological fathers."

Up to 20,000 paternity tests are conducted annually across the country.

DNA Biosciences conducts many tests for the Child Support Agency, but others come direct from suspicious dads who contact the firm to order home DNA testing kits.

The kits cost £189 and involve taking swabs from the mouths of the father and the child, which are then posted off for analysis. They are 100 per cent accurate.

A spokeswoman for relationship counselling charity Relate, which has a branch in Leicester, said a couple would find it hard to repair the damage a test could cause.

She said: "If someone finds out he is not the real father of a child he has the pleasure of knowing he was right not to trust his partner, but that is completely counteracted by the devastation of knowing the child he loves and cherishes is not his own flesh and blood.

"This represents a massive breach of trust, particularly if a person has been lied to for many years. It would take a very forgiving man to make a relationship work after this."

The Rev Canon Richard Atkinson, Archdeacon of Leicester, said: "The Christian church sees faithfulness within marriage as one of the essential building blocks of a healthy society.

"The evidence that this is being eroded is particularly sad for the well-being of our children and family life."

155086[/snapback]

I wonder if the scientists feel any guilt or remorse for all the misery, the family breakdown, the upheavals and the lasting despair their life's work will inevitably cause?.

[stez]

I wonder if the scientists feel any guilt or remorse for all the misery, the family breakdown, the upheavals and the lasting despair their life's work will inevitably cause?.

155098[/snapback]

why should they? unless they're the fathers of these kids

[davieG]

I wonder if the scientists feel any guilt or remorse for all the misery, the family breakdown, the upheavals and the lasting despair their life's work will inevitably cause?.

155098[/snapback]

That's a fair point but they are only exposing the problem of others infidelity.

What amazes me is all the mistrust in the first place; 14% of expectant fathers in Leicestershire don't trust the mothers.

[Hitesh]

How on earth do they get out of the kitchen so easily?

155079[/snapback]

Someone unlocked the chain again!

[cisono]

Someone unlocked the chain again!   

155140[/snapback]

Where is it that you live again?

Someone in a uniform would like to know (hehe) and possibly visit...

[Thracian]

That's a fair point but they are only exposing the problem of others infidelity.

What amazes me is all the mistrust in the first place; 14% of expectant fathers in Leicestershire don't trust the mothers.     

155139[/snapback]

Perhaps they know em better than we do!!!

[davieG]

Perhaps they know em better than we do!!!    

155186[/snapback]

Why are they still with them then - beats me

[Hitesh]

Where is it that you live again?

Someone in a uniform would like to know (hehe) and possibly visit...

155163[/snapback]

ooh...sounds exciting! I love a nurses uniform!

Right, all joking aside! The comments i hav made in this thread are all jokes and i am not sexist at all! I just want to clear that up before people start branding me as a male chovanist (spelling?) pig etc!

[Thracian]

Why are they still with them then - beats me 

155199[/snapback]

Cos they daren't leave em --- for five minutes!!!

I suppose It's the magic mixture that's lured mankind for millennia: everyone loves a rampant woman - the headaches start when you marry one.

[Thracian]

ooh...sounds exciting! I love a nurses uniform!     

Right, all joking aside! The comments i hav made in this thread are all jokes and i am not sexist at all! I just want to clear that up before people start branding me as a male chovanist (spelling?) pig etc!

155203[/snapback]

Well I love a nurses uniform too, and secretaries in pencil skirts, and stockings with suspenders....

[davieG]

Well I love a nurses uniform too, and secretaries in pencil skirts, and stockings with suspenders....

155223[/snapback]

Sounds like you could be the one causing all the problems, I concede the title to you:

You're the Daddy

[Hitesh]

Sounds like you could be the one causing all the problems, I concede the title to you:

You're the Daddy 

155229[/snapback]

I think he might want you to keep it quiet though! He is gonna have laods of single mums knocking at his door if this gets out and they will be asking for money!

[Thracian]

Sounds like you could be the one causing all the problems, I concede the title to you:

You're the Daddy 

155229[/snapback]

If only, but you've forgotten the great difference between young and old...

When you're young they're in your bed. When you're old they're in your dreams...

[Guest]

Hang on a sec, it's alright having a pop at the women involved, but what about the biological fathers, eh? Or were they all seduced against their will?

Seriously though, do you think it's fair that some men can behave like slappers, leaving women with kids, and not have to face up to any responsibility? I can see the argument against paternity testing because of the problems it causes, but if the woman is unfaithful, and has lied in the first place, surely the relationship is already flawed?

It's the kids I feel sorry for.

[Thracian]

Hang on a sec, it's alright having a pop at the women involved, but what about the biological fathers, eh?  Or were they all seduced against their will?

Seriously though, do you think it's fair that some men can behave like slappers, leaving women with kids, and not have to face up to any responsibility?  I can see the argument against paternity testing because of the problems it causes, but if the woman is unfaithful, and has lied in the first place, surely the relationship is already flawed?

It's the kids I feel sorry for.

155419[/snapback]

Yes, and it's the kids that truly matter in the end.

I know this will be extremely controversial but in the great scheme of things, the survival of the human race, it doesn't matter two hoots who brings the kids up so long as they survive safe and well in the sort of caring environment which is likely to ensure the next generation are also safely brought up.

Hence my belief that the scientists are doing irrepairable harm and causing totally unnecessary and long-lasting misery.

Leave well alone. I've personally got absolutely no suspicions about my kids (though it wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong in life) but they've been part of my life a long time now, I love em (whatever) and I would be proud and happy for them to call me dad wherever they came from.

Doesn't mean I want the discomfort of having such news thrust in my face.

Washing dirty linen in public never did any good.

[Thracian]

Hang on a sec, it's alright having a pop at the women involved, but what about the biological fathers, eh?  Or were they all seduced against their will?

Seriously though, do you think it's fair that some men can behave like slappers, leaving women with kids, and not have to face up to any responsibility?  I can see the argument against paternity testing because of the problems it causes, but if the woman is unfaithful, and has lied in the first place, surely the relationship is already flawed?

It's the kids I feel sorry for.

155419[/snapback]

PS: Part a) No but it is pretty rare for a woman to end up pregnant without actively encouraging the male. If she's already in a relationship then ending up pregnant in this day and age (with so many contraceptive alternatives) is pretty irresponsible. Or do you not think so?.

[Guest]

PS: Part a) No but it is pretty rare for a woman to end up pregnant without actively encouraging the male. If she's already in a relationship then ending up pregnant in this day and age (with so many contraceptive alternatives) is pretty irresponsible. Or do you not think so?.

155453[/snapback]

I agree totally. Accidents do happen, but accidents can be prevented. I don't want to criticise anyone, as I know some great kids who are the by-product of 'accidents', and on the whole, the parenting cannot be questioned. It's all about facing upto responsibility. Without DNA testing, men can go through life without taking responsibility for their actions, remember contraception isn't confined to us women.