Help Make Heart Test Mandatory

Summary


Pulse oximetry. A cheap, painless and lifesaving test; yet it is not mandatory in the state of West Virginia. You would think something that is so easy and costs less than $10 per baby would be a no-brainer. But sadly, it is a little more complicated than that.

In February of this year, I gave birth to a 6-pound, 14-ounce little boy we named Corbin. I had a normal pregnancy with no complications and a smooth delivery. After Corbin was born, we were told that he had a heart murmur. He was then tested using pulse oximetry and showed an abnormal (oxygen saturation of less than 95 percent) reading in his feet. We were scheduled to see a cardiologist two days later and that's when we found out Corbin had life-threatening heart defects that would need surgery.

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Help Make Heart Test Mandatory

Although Corbin was tested using pulse oximetry, it was not used during his routine newborn screening. It was used after the doctor heard a heart...

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