Title: How is newborn screening done? | NICHD - Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Headings: How is newborn screening done?
How is newborn screening done?
Hearing Test
Pulse Oximetry
Other Blood Tests
Citations

Content: If the infant’s brain does not respond consistently to the sounds, there may be a hearing problem. Pulse Oximetry
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). 1 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25% of babies with congenital heart disease (one that is present at birth) have a CCHD. 2 There is evidence that medical care is allowing more infants with CCHD to survive. One study found that 83% of infants with a CCHD who were born between 1994 and 2005 survived at least 1 year. Only 67% of infants born between 1979 and 1993 with a CCHD lived to 1 year.