What New Parents Should Know About Newborn Screening

For most parents, the tiny heel stick their newborn gets at the hospital is a nonevent. Sending off a drop of blood to look for a genetic condition is the least exciting of all that happens when welcoming a new child. But if your newborn screening results come back abnormal, the test’s importance becomes clear.

We talked to William Wilson, MD, a pediatric geneticist with UVA Health Children’s about the newborn screening test. With 44 years of experience, he’s seen many lives saved by newborn screening. But he’s also aware of the shortcomings. And he’s witnessed how an abnormal test result can throw a family into panic-mode.

Whether you’re waiting on results, have gotten an abnormal test result, or have gotten a normal test result and aren’t sure what it means, here’s what every new parent should know about the newborn screening test.

Is Every Newborn Screened for Genetic Conditions?

“They’re supposed to be,” Wilson says. At the hospital, pediatricians take care of sending off the blood sample for testing. In a homebirth, nurse midwives can do this.

Every state in the United States requires newborn screening.

“It’s in service of the child,” Wilson says. “By identifying these children early, we have the best chance at securing a better life for them.”