Baby checks before going home
Your baby will be offered a series of health checks in the first few weeks of life. Those listed below will ideally happen before going home from hospital.
Statewide hearing screening
The hearing screen will be offered as soon as possible after birth.
If it is not possible to have the screen while you and your baby are in hospital, you will be offered the hearing screen for your baby as an outpatient or at a local community location, soon after discharge from hospital.
nsw newborn screening program- the “heel-prick” test
The NSW Newborn Screening Program is a free public health service available to all babies born in NSW and ACT. The heel-prick bloodspots are used to test for a variety of rare conditions which, if treated early, allow a much better quality of life.
Newborn screening tests are free. The tests are not compulsory, and parents may refuse the test on behalf of their baby, but this could unnecessarily risk the baby's health.