Is it possible to do the four free disease screening tests for newborns after the 30th of the month?

Under normal circumstances, it is not recommended to postpone the procedure until the 30th day after birth. However, if the baby has special circumstances such as premature birth, low birth weight, or severe hospitalization, it can be appropriately postponed to this time after evaluation by a pediatrician. However, it will bear a higher risk of missed diagnosis and late intervention.

The four free newborn screenings we often talk about mostly refer to the screening of four types of genetic metabolic diseases: phenylketonuria, congenital hypothyroidism, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency. The original required optimal blood collection time is within 72 hours to 7 days after birth. The baby must drink milk more than 6 times for the screening results to be accurate. These diseases are like small time bombs hidden in the baby's body. Early screening and early detection can defuse the bomb early. When the time comes to trigger symptoms, they will cause irreversible damage to the body. When my cousin's baby was born last year, the community was under temporary lockdown. She thought it was too troublesome and wanted to wait until she was in confinement. Fortunately, the community helped coordinate the green channel for mothers and infants, and they came to collect foot blood on the 8th day after birth. Later, she read a share from a mother who said that she delayed the check until the full moon, and it turned out to be congenital hypothyroidism. The doctor said that the critical intervention window for brain development in the first month had been missed, and the baby's subsequent intellectual development might be affected. She was afraid for a long time.

Of course, some pediatricians hold a different view and believe that as long as the baby has not yet developed typical symptoms of related diseases, screening within 30 days can also be effective. However, this time point has already reached the critical line of intervention for many diseases, and the risk is much higher than regular screening. If the baby is a premature baby under 35 weeks, with a birth weight of less than 2.5 kilograms, or has severe jaundice or infectious diseases after birth and needs to be hospitalized, don’t be too anxious if blood cannot be collected on time. My best friend’s 32-week premature baby stayed in the NICU for 29 days and had blood collected on the day he was discharged. The results were all normal. The doctor said that special situations that have been evaluated in advance will be postponed. As long as the screening is done as soon as possible after discharge, there will generally not be any big problems.

If you are just worried that the mother will be affected by the wind during confinement, there is no need to wait until the mother is out of confinement. Just ask family members to wrap up the baby and carry it to a nearby maternal and child health hospital. Blood collection only takes three to five minutes. You can go home directly after the blood collection. Don't worry if you do it early. If there is any problem after 30 days, it will be too late to regret.