Newborn Care

Newborn House Call

  • A house call after your unassisted birth for a complete newborn exam and newborn screenings.

  • A house call by a midwife to do a routine check and/or specific follow up check on your newborn after your discharge from the hospital or birth center, or if you have had an unassisted birth. We can check baby's vital signs, oxygen saturation, bilirubin levels (jaundice), latch, feeding, weight gain, reflexes, rashes, help with corrections if indicated and common concerns.

  • At-home Newborn Hearing Screening. Indicated if you gave birth outside of the hospital with another midwife or at a birth center where hearing screenings are not offered. Best done within first month of baby's life.

Newborn Exam & Screenings

  • Auditory deficits are the most common birth defect in the US. 1 in 300 babies will be born with a hearing impairment. Evidence shows that early detection (within the first month of life) of any auditory deficiencies may be crucial to ensuring your baby’s full brain development.

    This screening is ideally done within the first month of life, and is typically performed 12-72 hours postpartum. Later testing is also beneficial. The test evaluates your baby’s ability to register the full range of auditory frequencies (OAE). It is a sound test, non-invasive, and usually takes less than 5 minutes.

  • In California, about 1 out of every 600 babies tested will have a rare, but treatable genetic disorder. Early detection, diagnosis, and intervention can prevent death or disability and enable children to reach their full potential. This newborn screening identifies metabolic, endocrine and certain genetic conditions that can affect a child’s long-term health or survival.

    To do the screening, at 12-72 hours after birth we take a few drops of blood from the newborn’s heel (this is the dreaded “heel poke” — but if baby is kept with a parent, not forced, they rarely cry), which is then sent for testing for approximately 80 different metabolic disorders. Parents who want their baby’s blood spot destroyed after the screening is performed can request this.

  • Newborn screening for critical congenital heart defects (critical CHDs) can identify newborns with these conditions before signs or symptoms are evident. The window for this screening is typically 12-24 hours after birth. A pulse oximeter is used to measure the percentage of hemoglobin in the blood that is saturated with oxygen. This tells us how effectively your baby’s heart and lungs are working together. Timing this screening around the time of the newborn hearing screening can help improve efficiency.

    Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defect in the United States, affecting nearly 1% of―or about 40,000―births per year. About 1 in 4 babies born with a heart defect has a critical congenital heart defect (critical CHD, also known as critical congenital heart disease). Babies with a critical CHD need surgery or other procedures within the first year of life.