Why are New­born Health Screen­ings Important?

September is Newborn Screening Awareness Month. Each year, more than 13,000 newborn babies are identified with conditions such as cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, congenital heart defects, and hearing loss through a public health program called newborn screening. Without specialized care and treatment, these babies would face long-term disability, or even death. (CDC).

At Onslow Memorial Hospital, our staff takes pride in the care that we provide mothers and their newborns. Setting families up to live safe and healthy lives is our number one priority. Our Maternal Child Services team along with our case mangers pride themselves on their abilities to screen, detect, diagnose, and offer early intervention resources to mothers and babies. That is why Newborn Screening is so important. We screen for 60 conditions. Using a few drops of blood from the newborn's heel, we are able to screen for certain genetic, endocrine, and metabolic disorders. Being able to screen for these conditions makes it possible to connect families with early care and treatment or intervention options they might need to give them the best chance at a healthy life.

Why is the hospital doing a newborn screening? There are a number of potentially devastating diseases that can be present in a newborn but hidden at the time of birth.

How does the screening process work? The newborn screening process is very simple. A healthcare worker simply draws a few drops of blood by pricking the infant’s heel, usually within 24 to 48 hours of birth. That blood is then sent off to a certified newborn screening lab which analyzes it for a number of disorders including metabolic disorders, hormonal issues, blood disorders, and more.

What if newborn screening results aren’t normal? There may be a recommendation for additional testing, or infants will be referred to specialty doctors or other healthcare providers for evaluation and treatment.

For more information on Onslow Memorial Hospital Maternal Child Services and other community resources visit our maternity page.