Title: Pulse Oximetry Screening for Babies
Headings: Pulse Oximetry Screening for Babies
Pulse Oximetry Screening for Babies
How Is a Pulse Oximetry Test Performed?
Is Pulse Oximetry Testing Safe?
Why Is Pulse Oximetry Testing Important?

Content: Normally, a newborn baby should have an oxygen saturation level that is greater than 95%. Screening using pulse oximetry can detect some infants with congenital heart disease who otherwise may go undetected for a while. There are some congenital heart defects that cause a newborn baby to have lower oxygen saturation in the blood after birth. It often can be difficult to determine if a baby has cyanosis ( bluish discoloration of the skin due to poor oxygen content of the blood) just by looking at him or her after birth. How Is a Pulse Oximetry Test Performed? The pulse oximeter has a lighted probe that is temporarily attached to the baby’s finger, ear lobe, or foot. Once the baby’s finger is attached to the probe (usually by a sticker), the red light of the probe reads the amount of oxygen carried by the blood. The oxygen level is tested in both arms and both feet. In some kinds of congenital heart disease, the numbers can be different in the arms compared to the legs. It also helps to validate the test to do it in all of the extremities.