Title: Newborn Screening Process | Newborn Screening
Headings: Newborn Screening Process
Newborn Screening Process
When Does Newborn Screening Happen?
Where Does NBS Happen?
How Does NBS Happen?
Blood Spot Screening
Pulse Oximetry Screening
Hearing Screening
Is NBS the Same for All Babies in the U.S.?
Parent Options During Screening
Differences in the Newborn Screening Panel
Before Newborn Screening: Questions to Ask

Content: Pulse Oximetry Screening
Pulse oximetry screening uses a sensor to determine if your baby might have certain heart conditions called critical congenital heart disease (CCHD). CCHD is a group of serious heart conditions present at birth. Children with CCHD have any of a wide range of heart problems that arise when parts of the heart do not form correctly. In some forms of CCHD, the heart has trouble delivering oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. Babies with these forms of CCHD have low levels of oxygen in their blood. Measuring your baby’s blood oxygen level can help see if your baby needs urgent heart treatment. Following is a step-by-step guide explaining how pulse oximetry screening happens: Between 24 and 48 hours after birth, a health care provider will tell you that it is time for your newborn’s pulse oximetry screening. The health care provider will place a small wrap on your baby’s skin, usually around the right hand or wrist and on either foot. One side of the wrap has a light, and the other has a sensor.