All new parents want the best for their baby and a constant worry is whether or not the baby is healthy. Screening tests are one way of determining if a baby has any health risks.
What is newborn screening?
Newborn screening is offered to all newborns within the first few days of life. There are three types of tests: the physical, the hearing and the heel prick.
The physical
The physical is a basic examination to check eyes, heart and hips. This examination is part of ensuring your baby is healthy and to identify if any further treatment is necessary.
Initially carried out in the first couple of days, a routine follow up will take a place around the age of 6-8 weeks.
The hearing screening
Similar to the physical, this test is carried out soon after birth and may be done before the mother and newborn are discharged. The purpose of this test is to help identify permanent hearing loss and therefore provide new parents with the right advice and support.
The heel prick
This is a simple procedure where a nurse or midwife will take a blood sample by pricking your baby’s heel and then conduct a blood test in order to identify whether the newborn is at risk of any health problems, particular health concerns at a genetic level, including sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis and immunodeficiency.
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Why is newborn screening important?
Although screening test is offered to all new babies, parents have the right to decline these tests if they wish. For those parents who are undecided, here is a list of why newborn screening is important.
The benefits of newborn screening:
- Not all medical conditions can be identified straight away, and especially not just by a routine examination. Despite the fact that your baby might look healthy, it would be worth having the screening done – to put your mind at ease if nothing else.
- Identifying problems early on could improve the health of the baby and allow doctors to provide early treatment to help combat the condition.
- Some conditions identified in the newborn screening process can be treated very easily, but if left untreated could cause a lot of damage. For example, babies with phenylketonuria (PKU) can’t process phenlalanine as well. If left to build up in the body, this can result in brain damage.
- Conditions that are more complex to treat mean that parents can take preventative steps to help ensure their baby is as healthy as possible. Babies diagnosed with sickle cell disease – who are at a higher risk of infection – can be provided with a daily dosage of penicillin.
Although screening for newborns can be a terrifying ordeal, the alternative can be much worse. Loving and caring for a newborn baby whilst not knowing about any underlying conditions – or worse not treating them – could cause some serious damage, and so it’s probably safest to embrace the nerve wrecking experience for some peace of mind.
Resources:
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/Pages/newborn-hearing-test.aspx
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/newborn-screening.aspx
http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/newborn-screening-tests.html#
https://www.cdc.gov/features/newborn-screening/
http://www.babysfirsttest.org/newborn-screening/blog/the-importance-of-newborn-screening-it-changed-our-lives
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