{"id":15600,"date":"2025-09-18T08:08:32","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T12:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?page_id=15600"},"modified":"2025-09-22T12:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T16:01:10","slug":"rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-what-parents-need-to-know-about-newborn-screening","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-what-parents-need-to-know-about-newborn-screening\/","title":{"rendered":"Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District Shares What Parents Need to Know About Newborn Screening"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>September 15, 2025<br \/>\n<strong>Media Contact<\/strong><strong>: <\/strong>Dr Zelalem Attlee, Zelalem.Attlee@vdh.virginia.gov<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District Shares What Parents Need to Know About Newborn Screening<br \/>\n<\/strong><em>September is Newborn Screening Awareness Month<\/em><\/p>\n<p>WARRENTON, Va.\u2013 Did you know that by the time a baby is two days old they\u2019ve already taken three of the most important tests of their life? Newborn screenings can identify the risk of more than 30 disorders. During National Newborn Screening Awareness month, The Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District (RRHD) Department of Health wants to let new parents know how early detection gives babies the best chance for a long and healthy life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first days of life are filled with milestones, and newborn screening is one of the most important,\u201d said Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District Director James B. Carr, M.D. \u201cThese simple tests, done within the first 48 hours, give us the ability to detect conditions that otherwise might not be noticed until it is too late. Early detection means early treatment\u2014and that gives every child in our community the best possible start to a long, healthy life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In Virginia there are three types of newborn screenings<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/dried-blood-spot-newborn-screening\/\">Newborn Blood Spot Screening<\/a> (NBS)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/critical-congenital-heart-disease\/\">Critical Congenital Heart Disease<\/a> (CCHD)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/early-hearing-detection-and-intervention\/\">Virginia Early Hearing Detection &amp; Intervention<\/a> (Va-EHDI)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Newborn Bloodspot Screening is done by pricking the baby\u2019s heel to get a tiny blood sample. Just a few drops go onto a paper card which is sent to a lab, to check for genetic and potentially life-threatening disorders. Your pediatrician will get results in about a week.<\/p>\n<p>Newborns are also screened for heart defects. The CCHD screening is a quick and painless test. A nurse will place a light sensor on the baby\u2019s finger or toe. The sensor measures how much oxygen is in the blood. Without the test, you may not notice right away that anything is wrong with the baby. If CCHD finds that your baby has a heart defect, you can make sure your baby is seen by a specialist to get the care they need to live a healthy life.<\/p>\n<p>The Virginia Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program will identify congenital hearing loss. Staff can schedule a follow-up test and early intervention services if needed.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what parents can do:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ask your baby\u2019s doctor for test results to make sure the doctor got them, and that they are normal.<\/li>\n<li>If you are planning a home birth, talk to your doctor about getting the screenings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If your baby is born in a hospital, all screenings will take place in the hospital within the first 24 to 48 hours of life. Early detection and treatment often prevent serious illness, disability or even death. If any newborn screening results are abnormal, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/newborn-screening\/\">Virginia Department of Health\u2019s Newborn Screening Programs<\/a> are here to help.<\/p>\n<p>Parents can find more information and resources by reaching out to The Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District (RRHD) Health Department (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rrhd.org\">www.rrhd.org<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"># # #<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>September 15, 2025 Media Contact: Dr Zelalem Attlee, Zelalem.Attlee@vdh.virginia.gov Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District Shares What Parents Need to Know About Newborn Screening September is Newborn Screening Awareness Month WARRENTON, Va.\u2013 Did you know that by the time a baby is two days old they\u2019ve already taken three of the most important tests of their life? Newborn [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":444,"featured_media":0,"parent":12292,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[1222,1221,1220,1223],"class_list":["post-15600","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-congenital-heart-disease","tag-newborn-bloodspot-screening","tag-newborn-screening","tag-virginia-early-hearing-detection-intervention"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District Shares What Parents Need to Know About Newborn Screening - Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/rappahannock-rapidan-health-district-shares-what-parents-need-to-know-about-newborn-screening\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District Shares What Parents Need to Know About Newborn Screening - Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"September 15, 2025 Media Contact: Dr Zelalem Attlee, Zelalem.Attlee@vdh.virginia.gov Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District Shares What Parents Need to Know About Newborn Screening September is Newborn Screening Awareness Month WARRENTON, Va.\u2013 Did you know that by the time a baby is two days old they\u2019ve already taken three of the most important tests of their life? 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