Scroll
To Top
Menu
Home / Newborn Screening

Newborn Screening

Newborn screening is one of the most successful public health programs ever undertaken in the United States. For nearly 60 years, newborn screening has been saving and improving the lives of children and their families through the early identification of diseases that cause permanent disability or death if not identified and treated as early as possible. While individual states administer these screening tests at the birth of an infant and determine which recommended conditions to test for, Health Resources and Services Administration, National Institutes of Health, and Centers for Disease Control provide critical support, both financial and technical, at the federal level for these programs. NORD advocates for robust newborn screening programs at both the state and federal level to ensure the continued benefit to infants and their families.

Share Your Story

Please contact us if you would like to share your experience with newborn screening or click here to view NORD’s policy statements regarding newborn screening.

For more information on each state’s newborn screening activities from 2020 please click here for our 6th Edition of NORD’s State of States Report.

Outreach on Twitter

Click to enlarge

Reflections

Newborn Screening: History, Future and Awareness Month

Every September, we celebrate and raise awareness for newborn screening (NBS) in the United States and the impact it has had on millions of families. Each year, approximately four million babies are screened for serious disorders that are present at birth. Of those four million, screening identifies over 12,000 infants annually with a condition that, if left undiagnosed and Read more >... Read more >

A Newborn Screening Reflection: Sarah’s Story

September is Newborn Screening Awareness Month, and I’d like to share our family’s experience with it, and why we think every parent should know more about this incredible test, that looks for dozens of genetic disorders in babies that are not so easily apparent at birth. My husband Chris and I waited to have kids, Read more >... Read more >

Newborn Screening Resources

For Families and Clinicians:

  • National Coordinating Center for the Regional Genetics Networks Resource Repository:
    • What is it? Explore resources developed by the NCC, the seven regions, NGEFSC, and other national partners. The repository can be organized by intended audience or topic area (sub-categories are listed below). The filter function will allow you to search by resource name, the organization that developed the resource, topic area, or intended audience.
  • Baby’s First Test:
    • What is it? Provides current educational and family support and services information, materials, and resources about newborn screening at the local, state, and national levels. This resource is dedicated to educating parents, family members, health professionals, industry representatives, and other members of the public about the newborn screening system. The site also provides many ways for people to connect and share their viewpoints and questions about the newborn screening system.
    • BFT NBS Month 2020 Awareness Toolkit
  • Expecting Health, Navigate Newborn Screening Modules:
    • What is it? To help families navigate their child’s health during a critical period of development, Expecting Health created free online educational modules. Families will find answers to the following questions: What is the process of screening? What do newborn screening results mean? What conditions are screened in newborn screening? What should I ask my healthcare provider about newborn screening? What are the state and federal laws around screening?
  • Association of Public Health Laboratories, NewSTEPs:
    • What is it? The Newborn Screening Technical assistance and Evaluation Program (NewSTEPs) is a national newborn screening resource center designed to provide data, technical assistance, and training to newborn screening programs and assist states with quality improvement initiatives. It includes resources and profiles of state and condition-specific screening.
  • Screen Baby Screen: Perspectives on Newborn Screening
    • Do you know what newborn screening is and why all states have programs to test babies during their first days of life? Are you familiar with how newborn screenings provide early detection, diagnosis and intervention to help children to achieve their full potential? This engaging webinar is on the importance of newborn screening.

For Clinicians:

Newborn Screening Policy Statements & More

Alone we are rare. Together we are strong.®