When I first got pregnant with Elena I started planning right away.
I knew for sure that I was going to switch to a midwife. I started googling midwives in the area and immediately booked a meet and greet with a center I found that was brand new and right near the hospital. I had a great appointment and immediately decided that she would be my care provider.
Then I started thinking about vaccines and newborn screenings. This was especially important since I was going to be giving birth at a birth center. No vaccines are offered at the Birth Center so if I wanted to get them done I’d have to visit my pediatrician shortly after birth. Same with some of the newborn screenings, including a pulse ox test which I KNEW was on my list of MUST DOs thanks to Kristine and Cora.
The vaccines and other newborn screenings I wasn’t entirely sure about. Were they necessary? What did they do? What could they detect? What decision would be right for *my* family? Because at the end of the day it’s all about what’s right for your family, your baby.
I had only just begun to start doing my research when my water broke at 18 weeks resulting in my perfect little girl being born 5 days later on February 25th 2012.
But that hasn’t stopped me from looking into these things. It’s hard to look into things like Newborn screenings especially when I’m not going to have a newborn come July, like I was suppose too but it’s still things I want to be educated about. Both of my children have been “surprise” pregnancies. While I knew that things were being done that could make some babies I wasn’t expecting to actually make them ;). So just in case, I want to be prepared.
Once again thanks to Kristine, I learned about Baby’s First Test. It provides important information about newborn screening, how easy it is, and why it’s important. Here are the basic questions that I personally had:
I encourage you to learn more about Baby’s First Test and Newborn Screenings, BEFORE you get pregnant, they have a ton of fantastic information and they make it so easy to understand! As of right now I want to make sure that all three tests are done on any future additions but there is still so much more I need to know and learn.
Did you get all three newborn screenings done when your newborn was born? Why or Why not?
Check back soon for more a more detailed posts on what each test involves, why it’s important and how YOU can be proactive in your child’s health care and make the best decision for you and your family.
The “heel prick” saved my son’s life by picking up a rare & life threatening metabolic disorder. Thanks to early diagnosis & intervention, Klaw is a happy & healthy 2 year old. His VLCADD is managed through diet & supplements.
We had no reason to suspect anything was wrong with my son. He most likely would have died without the early intervention. A few drops of blood was worth it.
so glad you learned about newborn screening. saved my kids too! the best newborn screening group is http://www.savebabies.org They are all moms just like us! They are the only group in the country working just on newborn screening. and they are all volunteers! which really surprised me. i am alittle wary of the government and if you look at the small type on the baby’s first test site, you will see they are government! I would rather learn from someone who has been thru it. plus you can call or email them which is how i got my questions answered. my girls were saved by the screening but i did not know anything about it until i spoke to someone at savebabies.org! they even gave me a FREE kit to get the screening done since i live where there aren’t alot of tests. check them out!
so glad you learned about newborn screening!!!
Yes, I did. I wanted to make sure everything is fine with my baby
I did do all 3 tests, because I think any “risks” that could possibly be involved outweigh the potential to save my babies left if anything were wrong
nay because i already made a mistake vaccinating and now my kids have autism so i say no to any more procedures, i failed once, dont wanna do it again
I believe in doing newborn screenings
Definitely. This is way different than vaccines. You aren’t actually injecting anything into them. Some very simple tests could help define early problems. I absolutely did them. I also vaccinated, and my son is fine.
I think it is good testing-being informed is a good thing!