Prenatal Paternity Testing in Maryland

Non‑invasive prenatal paternity testing uses a standard blood draw from the pregnant mother and a cheek swab from the alleged father to compare the baby’s DNA to the father’s DNA markers, without disturbing the pregnancy. In Maryland, the child support agency or any party to a case can request blood or genetic testing, and a court must generally order testing through an approved laboratory; results that either definitively exclude the man or show at least a 97.3% probability of paternity are admissible under Maryland Family Law § 5‑1029 and summarized in resources on Maryland legal DNA testing laws.

Most non‑invasive prenatal paternity tests can be performed starting around the 7th week of pregnancy, counted from the first day of your last menstrual period. Many Maryland families coordinate early testing with prenatal care through Medicaid or qualified health plans obtained via Maryland Health Connection, which allow pregnant people to enroll outside the usual open‑enrollment period and can provide coverage for prenatal care quickly, as explained in Maryland Health Connection’s guidance for pregnant enrollees.

NIPP is considered low‑risk because it uses a routine maternal blood draw and avoids invasive procedures such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling. This blood‑based method fits with Maryland Medicaid’s broader maternity‑care benefits, which include prenatal visits, labor and delivery, doula and home‑visiting services, breastfeeding support, and mental‑health care, as described in overviews like Maryland Physicians Care’s guide to Medicaid benefits during pregnancy and CareFirst’s pregnancy benefits and programs.

Legal prenatal paternity tests that follow strict chain‑of‑custody procedures can be used in Maryland parentage and child‑support cases once the child is born. Maryland law and court guidance explain that genetic tests ordered under Family Law § 5‑1029 are performed by approved laboratories and that reports showing at least a 97.3% probability of paternity may be admitted as prima facie evidence, as outlined in the Maryland Courts’ brochure on genetic testing and establishing paternity.

Most private plans and Maryland Medicaid treat prenatal paternity testing as an elective, non‑covered service, even though Medicaid is a major payer for medically necessary prenatal care, delivery, and postpartum services. Pregnant Marylanders who qualify can obtain full‑scope Medicaid or the Maryland Children’s Health Program, and since 2022, Medicaid coverage for moms has been extended to 12 months postpartum, as described in Maryland Health Connection’s announcement “Good News for Pregnant Women”.

Maryland residents can access prenatal visits, ultrasounds, family‑planning services, and postpartum care through Medicaid and local care‑coordination programs, with details provided by organizations like HealthCare Access Maryland’s Pregnancy and Children program. Health plans such as CareFirst Community Health Plan Maryland and Maryland Physicians Care also offer doula services, home‑visiting, and group prenatal care, as described in their pregnancy benefits and programs and Medicaid pregnancy guides.

For legal questions about custody, child support, or how DNA testing affects your parental rights, you can start with the Maryland Department of Human Services’ page on paternity establishment and its child‑support brochures explaining the process. You can also review People’s Law Library resources such as Paternity – Frequently Asked Questions and, when needed, consult a Maryland family‑law attorney experienced in paternity proceedings, using guides like How to Establish Paternity in Maryland and Paternity in Maryland child‑support cases.

No, previous pregnancies do not interfere with NIPP results. The test isolates fetal DNA specific to the current pregnancy, ensuring accurate results regardless of prior pregnancies.

Yes, testing is possible if potential fathers are related, but additional analysis may be required to distinguish between their DNA profiles. Informing the lab about this relationship ensures more precise testing.

No, since the multiples will share the same DNA, it will be impossible to determine how many & which is which.

Yes! Both legal and non-legal NIPP tests include free gender determination as part of your results package.