You never know.
You just never know. Believe me - we got lucky with Gwen. Twice.
The first time was at her 20 week ultrasound - her heart-defect could have very easily gone unnoticed. It happens frequently. Her next big hope would have been a simple "pulse-ox" test. It is, since Gwen was born, now recommended for all newborns by the U.S. Department of Health. It is currently up to each state to adopt the screening as standard. But you can always ask and insist they do it on your newborn.
Our second bit of luck was that they found her blood disorder before it threatened her life. Being born at a Children's Hospital with the intention to open her chest and repair her heart - she got a complete blood work up to screen for any immune issues.
Well, I'm thrilled to learn today that for all babies (who btw already get a drop of blood taken to test for other treatable diseases), now babies have one more bit of Hope mixed into that drop of blood.
"UCSF doctors have developed a test that, using just a drop of blood taken within hours of a baby's birth, can determine whether that child has a rare but potentially fatal immune deficiency disorder.
'One of the most extraordinary things in early newborn screening is being able to address something immediately,' said Gail Margolis, chairwoman of the public affairs committee of the March of Dimes, which supports the newborn screening changes. 'In this case, a child could die from very serious infection. These kids, you wouldn't know there was anything wrong without screening.'
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
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