Newborn Screening Case Study

Christine Le, an accountant living in Flushing, New York, gave birth to a healthy baby “Nathan” on January 29th, 2010. She found out that she was pregnant with her first child when her period was late. She had the routine prenatal care starting at 12 weeks and delivered at 40 weeks in a hospital with the present of her husband, Robert, and the in-laws. To insure her baby was healthy, Christine underwent several prenatal diagnostic methods like amniocentesis to examine for genetic defects. Another method was ultrasound; its purpose is to assess fetal age, multiple pregnancies, size and shape of the fetus. Christine underwent numerous lab tests to ensure that there are no complications (Berk, pg.43). Lab tests like a complete blood count that screens

As you can see genetic testing is very important and can affect a child's and parents lives for the better and the worst. Children all over the world have serious genetic diseases that affect their life on a daily. Some of these diseases are Achondroplasia, Down syndrome, and Turner's syndrome. Many believe genetic testing is a good way to test for these genetic conditions before the child is even born, but others think that it can harm the baby very badly and even cause a miscarriage, so they choose not to do this kind of testing. Knowing about the most serious genetic diseases is very important for expecting parents to be informed as well as being

Prenatal testing includes screening and diagnostic testing that can provide valuable information to parents about the baby’s health. “Women are routinely offered a variety of genetic screening tests during their first three months of pregnancy to evaluate the risk for genetic disorders in their unborn baby” (livescience.com). I believe prenatal testing and counseling should not be mandatory and that each person needs to make their own decision based on their specific circumstances. Many prenatal tests are noninvasive and only require blood or urine and can test for HIV, anemia, diabetes, hepatitis B and preeclampsia. An ultrasound can also be used to detect some abnormalities with the baby. Doctors may strongly recommend that women who

They may want to skip obtaining informed consent, in order to save time and funds by not designating staff to distributing, collecting, and record keeping. In reference to the specific provisions in the NASW Code of Ethics that are applicable to research, it is the responsibility of those engaged in evaluation or research, to obtain voluntary and written informed consent from participants. The agency needs to ensure anonymity and confidentiality of the participants, as well as the data obtained from them (NASW, 2008). A provision I would recommend to ensure that the evaluation will be ethically conducted, would be to provide an explanation of the obligation we have to conduct an evaluation that uses consent procedures. This applies not only to the foster parents being interviewed, but also the clients’ whose existing records are being examined. This process may be time consuming and require agency resources, is necessary. We must also inform participants of their right to withdraw from evaluations and research at any time without penalty, according to the NASW Code of Ethics (NASW, 2008). Another key ethical issue that may arise could be that some members of the team are not in agreement on the importance of informing participants of the any limits of confidentiality, and the measures that will be taken to ensure confidentiality on the part of the agency. I would recommend that the team collectively assesses and discusses responsible research practices, to make sure they are acting in accordance with the code. For example, it is necessary to make sure the information collected is evaluated accurate, without bias, and the results are not falsified or fabricated

Indiana’s newborn screening program, codified at Indiana Code Chapter 16-41-17, requires hospitals to take a blood sample from every infant born under their care. It is a public health measure meant to check the newborns for certain diseases or conditions. Blood is collected in five circles on a newborn screen card, otherwise known as a dried blood spot (“DBS”) sample, and then given to a lab to test. The Genomics and Newborn Screening Program of the Indiana State Department of Health (“ISDH”) perform the tests—they punch small holes out of the DBS sample, often not using all five circles. There are no explicit directions on what to do with the remaining DBS cards, but from 1991 to June 2013 retained and

“Screening for alcohol and drug use in prenatal care is widely promoted in the United States as a public health strategy for reducing alcohol and drug use during pregnancy.” (Roberts, par 1) I think that they’re promoting drug and alcohol testing in prenatal care to help the mother get help, not punish her for doing them. Reading through a few articles on prenatal testing, I realized that most women see it as the doctor is going to turn over her information to the enforcements, which is not the case. In the fear of getting in trouble, mothers will avoid prenatal care all together, which is a problem in itself. Trying to find a happy medium where we can try to escape the statistics of children having side effects due to drugs or alcohol, might have to start at the source -- the seller.

The amount and scope of testing newborns is increasing as time goes on, should they be tested for other traits? Some traits that might be available to be tested for in is traits linked to alcoholism, heart problems, and how smart you can be when you are older. Baby's shouldn't be tested for these traits because it can worry the parents, it would set the child to a certain level they can't achieve or want to reach any higher but are told they can't, and also tell you how you are going to live you life by predicting/telling you traits of certain disease and personality traits.

The document examines the Newborn Screening: Genetic Diseases: Blood Samples Collected Bill No. 170, introduced by Assembly Member Mike Gatto on January 22, 2015. The law requires to amend Section 125000 of, and to add Sections 125003, 125004, and 125005 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to newborn screening. According to the bill, the State Department of Public Health is required to establish a program for the genetic disease testing and follow up services for newborn children. All newborn children statewide are subject to a screening, unless it violates their parents’ or legal guardians’ religious beliefs and practices.

The testing is not a bad idea as such but it should not be done to children. This regards to personal autonomy where it would be better if the testing is delayed until an individual is old enough to make his or her own decision about the test. A person’s genetic information should be private and counselling should be done to elucidate the basis for and consequences of the test in question. Individuals should be allowed to choose when and which

Under the Washington, DC Department of Health, Law 21-20, all hospitals, birthing, and maternity centers are required to have each baby born in their facility screened for congenital heart defects by using Pulse Oximetry prior to discharge. This bill was introduced on January

“Breakthroughs in Prenatal Screenings” delivers helpful evidence in the history of how far the science of prenatal testing has come by the statistics

Holding your newborn baby for the first time is one of the most rewarding experiences in life. Before you take your little bundle of joy home with you, it’s important for your baby to have a series of newborn screening tests. As the leading family birth center in the Mid-Willamette Valley of Oregon, Santiam Hospital understands the importance of newborn screenings. Their Women’s Health Clinic is dedicated to helping women stay healthy and happy throughout every stage of their lives. Whether you’re coming in for a routine pap smear or pre-pregnancy counseling, their knowledgeable OB/GYN will ensure that you receive the highest quality care during your visit.

The study found that with the prenatal screening program, requiring pregnant women be screened for HIV, more women would be tested (about 1.1 million), identifying 527 HIV infected pregnant women and prevent 150 mother-infant transmission of HIV annually. This program would increase life years by 3,311 among newborns and cost an estimated $8,900 per life year gained, or $195,700 per case of HIV avoided. The new born screening program, requiring all newborn infants be screened, would result in 3.9 million infants tested annually and would prevent 266 cases of newborn HIV infection. This method would identify 1,061 HIV infected women who gave birth and increase life years by 5,878. The annual cost of the program is an estimated $40.9 million, or $7,000 per life year gained, and $153,000 per prevented HIV cases. The benefits of the newborn screening program decrease if pregnant women agree to participate in the prenatal program; however, it is argued that newborn screening is a non-consensual method of screening pregnant women (Zaric, G., Bayoumi, A., Brandeau, M., & Owens, D. 2000).

2. Is it right to use genetic screening as a tool to keep tabs on their prospective enrollees?

Every state within the United States runs its own newborn screening program which test for at least 30 serious conditions which are treatable if caught early. The program is designed to save lives and uses the dried blood sample collected during the first week after birth. The blood sample is used to measure the presence of disease markers. The current newborn screening programs are fast, cost effective, and accurate in identifying disease before symptoms appear. Genome sequencing cost have now decrease to a price range like other complex medical test to be readily available for clinical application. It is possible for genome sequencing to replace or supplement the existing traditional panels for newborn screening tests. The