How does Newborn Bloodspot Screening work?
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Congratulations!
Baby is born!
24-48 hours after birth, a blood spot screening is done to check your baby’s health.
A few drops of blood are taken from baby’s heel and placed on a blood spot card and sent to a State Lab for testing.
Each spot is smaller than the size of a dime.
At the lab, special equipment tests the blood spots. Your baby’s blood is tested for nearly 50 disorders.
Your health care provider will give you the results when they are available.
Normal Results
If everything looks ok, the results are sent to your baby’s health care provider. Ask for your baby’s results at the first newborn visit!
Abnormal Results
If there might be a problem, the lab will call your baby’s health care provider. Screening can only tell if your baby MIGHT have a health problem; we won’t know for sure until your baby has more testing. Your baby’s health care provider will talk to you about what needs to happen next.