Impact of vanishing twins.

Summary of this article

Vanishing twins is a phenomenon in which one fetus disappears during pregnancy. The effects on the mother and the remaining fetus, causes, and precautions are explained in detail.

Vanishing Twin is a phenomenon in which one of the fetuses that starts developing as a twin in the early stages of pregnancy disappears during development. The impact of this phenomenon on prenatal paternity testing should be considered, in particular with regard to

1. Mixing fetal DNA samples

When vanishing twins occur, the lost fetal DNA may remain in the mother’s blood or amniotic fluid. In this case, the DNA of the lost fetus may be mixed with the fetal DNA sample taken before birth. This may complicate the DNA test results.

2. interpretation of expert testimony

Effects of mixed DNA: if the DNA of the vanishing twin is mixed with the DNA of the remaining fetus, the DNA profile detected may be different from normal. This can lead to ambiguous test results and make it difficult to accurately determine the parent-child relationship.
Occurrence of pseudo diversity: normally, the DNA of a single fetus has genetic material from two parents, but if the DNA profile contains several different genetic information due to the vanishing twin, this can lead to errors in determining parent-child relationships.

3. Measures and considerations

High-precision testing methods: the effects of the vanishing twin need to be taken into account in the analysis. High-precision DNA analysis techniques make it easier to distinguish between fetal DNA and vanishing twin DNA.
Need for additional testing: if there is a possibility of a vanishing twin when performing a prenatal paternity test, consider additional testing or retesting at a later date (postnatal DNA testing) to ensure confidence in the results of the test</a5> It is important to.

Summary

Vanishing twins can affect prenatal paternity testing. In particular, the presence of DNA from a vanished twin in a fetal DNA sample can lead to ambiguous results of the analysis. For this reason, high-precision analysis and additional testing is recommended in cases of possible vanishing twins. This is a case that requires expert judgement and careful inspection methods.