Newborn Tests and Injections. to Refuse or Not?

I say do them, They picked up on a potentially life threatning condition in my son, I am glad they found and we were able to get the treatment he needed, and he is a very healthy 4 year old now.

I have known several people that were able to find out that their babies had genetic malnormalities that are fatal in the first few days to months of life if not treated right away. They deal with the child not being able to process protiens properly and by finding out the baby can be put on a special formula that aid in their survial. These are rare conditions but I beleive it is better safe than sorry. The heel prick tests for 40 different genetic problems and many have been added due to the efforts of parents that have lost their newborns early in their lives. I hope this helps with your dilemna.

My opinion is this, everyday there are new advances in medicine, the hospital and dr's wouldn't do these tests unless there is a reason. Everyone always said, well we didn't do that when we were children. We survived without that. Well, because of all these tests, child immortality has dropped, diseases are all but eradicated in the U.S. Unfortunately, starting to make a comeback because people don't realize what good all these tests have done, immunizations. There will always be something bad that happens to someone, but if you look at the millions of births in the U.S. daily, and how minimal the bad effects are in contrast, it is worth protecting your child. As with everyting, you have to decide if the benefit out weighs the risk, which I believe it does. Research it, see what the vitamin K shot protects against, see what the eye drops do, the hep b shot. Both of my 2 1/2 year old and 3 month old had all 3 and are fine. You never know who has what and in the 1st year of life children are suspectible to so much. The hearing test is easy and safe and is an early indicater of a hearing problem that can affect speech. They also do the apgar test,( I know I spelled it wrong) which they look at their color, reflexes etc, this must and should be done. So you know I am not for all tests, all medications, I have a panic disorder where I hate medication and testing etc. I get the information on the tests, medications and do them if they are in the best interest of my child. Again, research them and look at the benefits and risks and make your own decisions. Personally, nothing is wrong with the newborn testing, injections- people are so paranoid now a days that they are missing the big picture of what advances have been made to protect our children from future and newborn problems. Remeber people make their decisions on their beliefs,and don't take the time to research, not necessarily on medical fact. They go on what they believe to be best for their child. You do what is best for yours. God bless you and early congratulations!

Hi J.,
I am a RN and I used to work in OB. When I worked in OB the most common tests were the PKU, also known as the newborn screen test. That test is to look for the lack of an enzyme to digest certain food(s). The 2 injections that are given are Vitamin K, which is given immediately after birth to aid with blood clotting. The second is only given at some hospitals and that is the 1st injection of the Hepatitis B series. They cannot give that injection to the baby without you signing a consent. A couple other things that they typically do is put erythromycin ointment on the baby's eyes to protect from a possible infection they could get coming down the birth canal. If you have a c-section the ointment is not really necessary. Also, if you are GBS+ they will do a blood test called a CBC, which looks to see if the baby got any of the GBS. I highly recommend letting them do the CBC if they feel it is necessary.
My baby was born prematurely so I didn't get much of a say but if I could have refused anything I would have refused the Vitamin K and the erythromycin.
I almost forgot one other test that they do sometimes is to test the blood sugar if the baby is too small or too big or shows signs of low blood sugar. It is very important to allow the nurses to monitor the blood sugar because if it gets too low the baby can get lethargic and possibly have a seizure.
Hope this helps.
Jenn

Hi, My children were born at home. We did have the PKU test done (heel prick). That was all. We didn't use eye drops (they only treat gonorrhea). We used oral vitamin K; we felt that was much safer due to the hight leukemia rates. We also don't vaccinate. My children are 10 & 8. They have been very healthy- ony a few colds and the flu once (1 fever). They don't even have cavities. I was not healthy as a child. I am now a Nutritionist and we do feed our children healthy. Anyway, feel free to call me ###-###-####. I am a homeschool mom committed to following Jesus also!!
Blessings,
S. Weckter, Global Wellness Concepts, Inc.

Throughout time mothers have been giving birth to healthy children despite the lack of medical interference. The medical profession and pharmaceutical industries, I assure you, are not in business for OUR benefit. No newborn should have to bear the attack on their tiny undeveloped immunes systems that the government is trying to impose as 'mandatory'. Hepatitis B, the flu shot, vitamin k, eyedrops....it's ridiculous. Let mom and God take care of the babies, they know best. I didn't have any shots, tests, or monitoring done on my daughter in the hospital. I didn't let her out of my sight. She never went to the nursery for anything. She was in my arms as soon as she was out of my body. Trust yourself. If you have doubts about what people say is necessary, don't do it. This is YOUR child, not theirs.

I have always had all the screenings done.
I figure I would rather have false positives and follow up, and have it be nothing, then miss something vital :)

DD#1 we were even at the hospital 24 hours from birth and the tests didn't bother her at all
DD#2 was in the NICU, so her newborn screenings were kind of bottom of the list compared to everything else they have faced..

the only advice i can give you is continue what you did withyour first 4 childre if you change it up this time you may regret it later and blame yourself for either giving him the test or not,depending on what you have alredy done. if you have 4 healthy childre why is there any thought on changeing your past practice.

It's worth doing your research and being ready to say yes or no when it's time. The medical profession does a lot of things so as to "cover all bases" assuming that everyone in the population is full of diseases. As I understand it, for example, AND DO CHECK ON THIS..., the eye ointment assumes that you might have gonorrhea or chlamydia which can make your child blind down the road if he or she is exposed to it during birth. Even if you're married and faithful and know you don't have such an STD, the medical practice presumes that there is some small teeny tiny chance that you or your partner are unfaithful and the baby might be blinded by the STD you don't yet know you have, or don't want to tell your partner you have. So the moral of the story really is, check on the reasons for each procedure and see if they're really necessary for YOUR baby. There might be more reasons for the eye ointment too, I don't know. Check it all out from current sources and make your decisions, and then just enjoy your baby! :)