What is newborn screening? Newborn screening checks your baby for blood, hearing and heart problems. All babies in the United States get a newborn screen. According to the March of Dimes, about 4 million babies are screened each year.
When is newborn screening done?
Your baby gets newborn screening at 1 to 2 days of age, or before leaving the hospital. If your baby isn’t born in a hospital, talk to your baby’s provider about getting newborn screening at 1 to 2 days of age. Some states require that babies repeat newborn screening again about 1 to 2 weeks later.
When does newborn screening check?
There are three parts to newborn screening:
- Blood test. Most newborn screening is done with a blood test to check for rare but serious health conditions. A health care provider pricks your baby’s heel to get a few drops of blood. The blood is collected on a special filter paper and sends it to a lab for testing. Blood test results are usually ready by the time your baby is 5 to 7 days old. To find out more about the timeframes for sending blood samples to lab and getting test results back, ask your baby’s provider or the hospital staff.
- Hearing screening. This test checks for hearing loss. For this test, your provider places tiny earphones in your baby’s ears and uses special computers to check how your baby responds to sound. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends yearly hearing screening for children aged 4 to 6, followed by additional screening at ages 8 and 10. Adolescents should receive at least 3 screens to detect any changes that might affect language, academics and social wellbeing.
- Heart screening. This test is used to screen babies for a group of heart conditions called critical congenital heart defects (also called critical CHDs or CCHDs). It uses a simple test called pulse oximetry. Pulse oximetry checks the amount of oxygen in your baby’s blood by using a pulse oximeter machine and sensors placed on your baby’s skin. A sensor will be placed on your baby’s right wrist and a second sensor will be placed on your baby’s foot. The readings will be taken at the same time and compared. If there is concern that your baby has failed this test, your baby’s provider may order an ultrasound of the heart to look for problems.
What happens next?
Most times newborn screening results are normal. If your baby’s screening results aren’t normal, it may simply mean more testing needs to be performed. Your baby’s provider then recommends another kind of test, called a diagnostic test, to see if there is a health problem. If the diagnostic test results are normal, no more testing is needed. If the diagnostic test results are not unormal, your provider can guide you about next steps for your baby.
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