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Check it out:
Vital screenings
for your newborn
WE’RE DUE TOO!
reduce the risk of sudden infant death
syndrome.”
While those are the screenings that a
full-term infant would receive, preterm
infants are tested further.
Are you sitting down?
“We do a car seat challenge test a few
days before discharge,” Garmon said. “We
watch for any signs of apnea, bradycardia
or oxygen desaturations while the infant
is sitting upright in the car seat. We also
teach parents CPR/choking for any infant
who is less than 35 weeks gestation. We
also have an occupational therapist who
performs developmental screenings on
our preterm infants and will recheck their
progress at three months or six months of
age. Any infant who is 32 weeks or less,
or any infant between 32 and 34 weeks
who was on oxygen longer than 72 hours,
will also have their eyes checked by an
ophthalmologist trained in retinopathy of
prematurity.”
For more information on Jackson
Hospital’s Family Birth Center, visit
www.jackson.org/baby.
FOR NINE MONTHS
of preg-
nancy, expecting parents do a lot of pre-
paring: for childbirth, for the nursery, for
feeding and so much more. But in those
moments right after childbirth, what
should new parents expect?
After birth, newborns are screened for
several health conditions.
Testing, testing
“Jackson Hospital participates in the
Alabama Newborn Screening Program,
which tests for 31 core conditions,
including PKU, congenital hypothyroid-
ism, hemoglobinopathies, galactosemia,
congenital adrenal hyperplasia, biotini-
dase deficiency, a number of amino acid,
organic acid and fatty acid deficiencies
and cystic fibrosis,” said Ava Garmon, RN,
who works in Jackson Hospital’s nurs-
ery. “This is a blood test done the day of
discharge. We send the blood sample to
the newborn screening department of the
Alabama Department of Public Health.”
Should any abnormalities be found,
parents can expect to be informed of
those within two weeks of the test being
performed.
Another important test parents should
expect for an infant: a hearing test.
“If the infant does not pass one or both
ears, we refer them to an audiologist
for further testing,” Garmon explained.
“We also check pulse oximeter
(the oxygen saturation of a
patient’s blood) readings
at delivery and again at
day two of life to screen
for any congenital heart
disease. We have a back
to sleep program that
informs parents of safe
sleep positions for
their infant to
Jackson Hospital’s $3 million
renovation of its women’s center
continues, with an expected com-
pletion date of December 2015.
The center, which will officially be
called the Family Birth Center at
Jackson, boasts all new equip-
ment; large, updated rooms; and
a warm, welcoming environment
for mom and baby. A tile mosaic
greets guests at the entrance to
the unit, and nature photography
depicting new life can be found
in patient rooms throughout the
Family Birth Center at Jackson.
The first phase of the project,
which includes eight new patient
rooms and a triage room, are com-
pleted. Phase 2 has begun, and it
includes the remaining six patient
rooms, the nurses’ station and the
elevator lobby.
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