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Why is newborn screening so important?

    • Most of the screened disorders are inherited but most babies with disorders have no prior family history of the disorder.
    • There is no way to tell whether a baby will have a disorder without testing so all babies are at risk.
    • Even though the risk of a disorder is small, it would be tragic to have a baby who was not screened who later suffered permanent damage because diagnosis was not possible until symptoms appeared.
    • Babies are tested for 29 core disorders including hearing loss on the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).