At a glance
- Newborn screening (NBS) identifies thousands of U.S. babies each year with serious, potentially life-threatening conditions. Early detection and treatment of these conditions empower families to support their babies to help them achieve their full potential.
What to know
Every state in the United States has a public health program that screens babies for many serious conditions. Shortly after a baby is born, a health professional takes a few drops of blood from the baby's heel and places it on an NBS filter paper card. This dried blood sample is sent to the state's NBS laboratory for analysis.
How does CDC help?
CDC operates the world's only laboratory dedicated to ensuring the quality and accuracy of newborn screening tests. CDC supports state NBS labs in the following ways:
- Improving current methods and creating new tests to find more conditions.
- Creating materials that enable NBS labs to effectively check their testing processes and accurately identify babies who may need care.
- Offering training and support so every state lab can use the latest technology and expand their screening to protect more babies.
- Developing tools that help states analyze their screening data quickly and improve early detection of serious childhood conditions.