The heel prick is administered in the first week after birth. A member of staff from the health clinic will visit you at home. The heel prick is automatically initiated once your baby has been registered with the municipality.
A few drops of blood will be taken from your baby through a prick in the heel. This requires your consent. The blood will then be tested by a laboratory for a number of rare and severe diseases. These are usually not curable, but they can be treated by, for instance, medicines or a diet. Tracing these diseases early means that treatment can be started quickly. As a result, serious harm to your baby’s physical and mental development can be prevented.
In total there are 18 different disorders, such as a disorder of the thyroid gland, a disorder of the adrenal gland, a blood disease (sickle cell disease), language mucous diseases and various metabolic diseases.
Find more information about the heel prick here.
Hearing test
The hearing test, also called hearing screening, is usually offered together with the heel prick. In some cases, the hearing test is done a few weeks later. The hearing test measures whether your baby’s hearing is sufficient to learn to talk. Again, the sooner this screening is done, the sooner treatment can begin.
Here you will find more information about the hearing test.
