& Expectant Parents Simple, New Test Offers More Reliable Health Screening For Newborns (NAPSA)-—Baby feet must be the most adorable things on earth. Even more than a source for tickling, however, your baby’s foot actually offers a precious 2ift—an invaluable glimpse into your baby’s bealth future. You may have heard about the simple heel-stick test newborns receive before they go home from the hospital. This is a valuable sereening that helps doctors diagnose inherited disorders (such as PRU) in newborns that require special care. But not all screening is the sarne. if you live in Colorado your new baby will receive the routine heel-stick sereening for cystic fibrosis (CF) and five other disorders in the first few days of hfe. Babies born in California, New Jersey, or 45 other states, however, will not be screened for CF, but may be screened for otherdisorders not inclided in Colorado’s program. States all agree it’s important to sereen babies within 48 hours of birth for hidden disorders that may require iramediate treatment to save the baby from brain damage or other serious problems. Unfortu- nately, standardized, nationwide screening does not exist and the result is that babies do not receive comprehensive screening for all detectable disorders in any state. Most state newborn screening pro- Expanded newborn screening can save lives. grams only screen for four to six disorders, however, screening for nearly 40 disorders is possible using new advancements in newborn screening. So what can you do to make sure your baby receives all the screening that is available? Order expanded newborn sereening, which is in addition to your state’s sereening program. When your baby receives the routine heelstick for the state screening, a few drops of blood can be placed on a separate sereening card. You raail the card to the screening lahoratory and results will be reported te your baby’s doctor. For more information, call Chr NewSereen at 1-800-747-3319 or visit www.newscreentest.coni.
