Watch this 6 minute video on heel prick information for parents (Ministry of Health - Manatū Hauora's National Screening Unit).
The Newborn Metabolic Screening Programme finds rare but life-threatening metabolic disorders with a blood test (heel prick test) at 48 hours after your baby's birth. Since 1969, almost all babies in New Zealand have had this screening. Early diagnosis means treatment can start quickly, before a baby becomes sick. Metabolic disorders are hard to find without screening.
Find out more about the heel prick test at the Newborn Metabolic Screening Programme website [1].
Check the Newborn Metabolic Screening Programme website for detailed information, including:
This diagram guides you through the newborn metabolic screening process.
Find out more about how the process works [3].
The current conditions screened for are:
If your baby has one of these disorders, you will receive information about the disorder and how to treat it from a paediatrician.
If your baby is diagnosed with a metabolic disorder, coping is an ongoing process. Everybody copes in a different way.
Find out about coping when your child is diagnosed with a chronic illness or disability [11].
Read about receiving a diagnosis for your child with special needs [12].
The Rare Disorders New Zealand website is a useful source of information about resources available for patients and their whānau living with a rare disorder in New Zealand.
See the section on patient services on the Rare Disorders New Zealand website [13].
The Newborn Screening Information website provides fact sheets on the metabolic disorders screened in the New Zealand Newborn Metabolic Screening Programme. It includes descriptions of each disorder and how they can be detected and treated.
See the page on disorder fact sheets at the Newborn Screening Information website [14].
Starship Foundation and the Paediatric Society of New Zealand acknowledge the cooperation of the National Screening Unit [15] in making this information available for families.
This page last reviewed 21 November 2022.
Email us [16] your feedback
Links
[1] http://www.nsu.govt.nz/pregnancy-newborn-screening/newborn-metabolic-screening-programme-heel-prick-test
[2] https://www.nsu.govt.nz/pregnancy-newborn-screening/newborn-metabolic-screening-programme-heel-prick-test/about-newborn
[3] https://www.nsu.govt.nz/pregnancy-newborn-screening/newborn-metabolic-screening-programme-heel-prick-test/how-process-works
[4] https://www.nsu.govt.nz/pregnancy-newborn-screening/newborn-metabolic-screening-programme-heel-prick-test/how-process-work-1
[5] https://www.nsu.govt.nz/antenatal-and-newborn-screening/newborn-metabolic-screening-programme-heel-prick-test/how-process-1
[6] https://www.nsu.govt.nz/pregnancy-newborn-screening/newborn-metabolic-screening-programme-heel-prick-test/about-test
[7] https://www.nsu.govt.nz/pregnancy-newborn-screening/newborn-metabolic-screening-programme-heel-prick-test/personal-stories
[8] https://www.nsu.govt.nz/pregnancy-newborn-screening/newborn-metabolic-screening-programme-heel-prick-test/frequently-asked
[9] https://www.nsu.govt.nz/system/files/resources/your-newborn-babys-blood-text-oct17.pdf
[10] https://kidshealth.org.nz/sites/kidshealth/files/pdfs/your-newborn-babys-blood-text-oct17.pdf
[11] https://kidshealth.org.nz/coping-when-your-child-has-diagnosis-chronic-illness-or-disability
[12] https://kidshealth.org.nz/receiving-diagnosis-your-child-special-needs
[13] https://www.raredisorders.org.nz/patient-support/patient-services/
[14] https://www.newbornscreening.info/disorder_fact_sheet/
[15] https://www.nsu.govt.nz/
[16] https://kidshealth.org.nz/contact?from=http%3A%2F%2Fkidshealth.org.nz%2Fprint%2F393%3Flanguage%3Dton