Newborn screening when done

In some cases, hospital staff will perform pulse oximetry pronounced ox-EM-i-tree to measure how much oxygen is in the infant's blood. Pulse oximetry is usually performed at least 24 hours after birth. Hospital staff place a sensor on the infant's skin for a couple of minutes, and the sensor measures the level of oxygen in the blood through the skin. Low blood oxygen can indicate that a newborn has heart problems. Pulse oximetry can help identify infants with a condition called critical congenital heart disease CCHD.

Hearing Test. 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. If one of your children has a health condition, will another have it, too? What kinds of health conditions does newborn screening test for? The health conditions are divided into six groups: Organic acid metabolism disorders. Metabolism is how well and fast your body processes what you eat and drink. During digestion, the body breaks down fat into fatty acids for energy. Amino acids help build protein in your body. These problems affect the glands that make hormones.

Hormones are chemicals made by the body. Hormones help with many processes in the body, like growth and development. These problems affect red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen to the rest of the body. Prepare for a healthy pregnancy and baby this year. Help save lives every month Give monthly and join the fight for the health of moms and babies.

Donate your birthday Create a Facebook fundraiser to let friends and family know you're donating your birthday so more babies can have theirs. Your baby's shots Learn about vaccines that help keep baby healthy. News Moms Need Blog Read about what moms and moms-to-be need to know. Return to website. I'M IN. Back to Newborn screening. Newborn screening appointments and vaccinations are continuing as normal, including the:.

Your newborn baby will be offered some screening tests in their first 6 to 8 weeks. Most babies are healthy and will not have any of the conditions the newborn screening tests are looking for. But for those babies who do have a health problem, the benefits of screening can be enormous. You'll need further testing to find out whether your baby definitely has a particular condition.

Almost all newborns are born healthy. There are other conditions that are tested only in some Australian states and territories. For example, congenital adrenal hyperplasia CAH and galactosaemia.

You can ask your child and family health nurse or midwife about the conditions covered by newborn screening in your hospital or community. Let your doctor or nurse know if you have a family history of any disorders or conditions. Newborn screening checks for rare disorders and conditions.