Between 24 and 48 hours of birth, you will come back to the Midwife Center for an appointment with a nurse referred to as your Immediate Postpartum Visit.
Newborn testing done at this appointment cannot be completed until 24 hours postpartum.
Click here for more information on PA newborn screening.
If you decide to omit any of the recommended or required procedures, you will be asked to sign a waiver before you and your baby are discharged.
The staff of The Midwife Center strongly recommends that you have your baby’s hearing tested in the first 30 days of life.
Hearing loss occurs in approximately 3 out of every 1,000 newborns. Without testing, 50% of newborns with hearing impairments go undetected until the age of two and a half. Since 80% of a child’s language ability is learned by 18 months of age, these children are at a great disadvantage with learning to speak, in school, and in relationships with others.
If your baby is born at the hospital, you can have hearing testing before you go home. Depending on your insurance coverage, the hearing screening may be performed by one of our nurses at the Immediate Postpartum Visit, otherwise you will be responsible for arranging the testing.
Additional information will be given to you at the time of discharge from the center.
Babies born with congenital heart defects are at significant risk for death or disability if their condition is not diagnosed soon after birth.
Pulse oximetry screening can detect a possible heart defect. All babies should be screened using pulse oximetry between 24–48 hours after birth. This will be done at your Immediate Postpartum Visit.
Screening for various metabolic disorders of the newborn is done by a simple heel stick blood test at the Immediate Postpartum Visit by the nurse.
Newborn screening is a special test your baby receives soon after birth to protect your baby’s health. State law requires that all babies born in Pennsylvania be screened for six special medical or genetic conditions. There are an additional 23 tests run with this same test.
A baby born with a serious medical or genetic condition may appear to be healthy at birth. By screening, these conditions are detected early and treated. Problems due to these conditions are often prevented.