Newborn Health and Screenings

Newborn screening is an important step to ensure a newborn is in good health. Screenings can help identify conditions that may affect a child's long-term health and survival. Early education and identification of these conditions allows families and health care providers to determine the appropriate next steps or interventions to help the child reach their full potential.

Throughout this section of the website, you will learn more about:

• Newborn Bloodspot Screening
• Newborn Hearing Screening
• Birth Defects
• Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
• Critical Congenital Heart Disease
• Preventative Care of Infants After Birth

Newborn Health

While screenings are crucial, there are many other important steps to ensure your newborn remains healthy. One of the first steps is to make sure you and your baby have a follow-up appointment scheduled with your primary care provider. Your baby's first follow-up appointment is scheduled a few days after you are both discharged from the hospital. Follow Safe Sleep recommendations to make sure your baby sleeps in a safe environment. Avoid smoking around your baby. Secondhand smoke weakens babies' lungs and can increase the risk of SIDS.

Other programs that help ensure your newborn is healthy include:

Maternal, Infant, Early Childhood Home Visiting

This Program, also known as Maine Families, helps pregnant women and parents of young children improve health and well-being for themselves and their families by connecting them with home visitors to set and achieve goals. Maine Families is a no-cost service that is offered to all families who are expecting or have a new baby at home. They work with your schedule and will come to you at your convenience Maine Families' certified Family Visitors can provide information, encouragement, and support around topics that matter to you regarding health, nutrition, safety, and development.

Maine contracts with Maine Children's Trust to administer the Program. Learn more and get started.

Count The Kicks

Count the Kicks is an evidence-based stillbirth prevention program of Health Birth Day, Inc. On average, 69 babies are stillborn every year in Maine. Count the Kicks has the potential to save 1 in 3 at-risk babies. The aim of the program is to educate expectant parents on their baby's normal movement, and to speak up if they notice a change in their baby's activity or movement. Decreased fetal movement may indicate a need for further evaluation and has the potential to save lives. The program offers free monitoring tools and materials to order. Count The Kicks has also launched an app that allows mothers to digitally count and track their baby's movements.

Preventative Care of Infants 

Maine law requires these preventative care interventions to be administered to all newborn babies.

• Eythromycin Antibiotic Eye Cream
  • An antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections babies can get in their eyes.
  • The bacteria usually transferred from mother to baby during birth.
  • If untreated, an infection can lead to blindness.
• Vitamin K Injection
  • Babies are not born with enough Vitamin K.
  • Vitamin K helps blood to clot and prevent serious bleeding.
  • Vitamin K injections help prevent “Vitamin K deficient bleeding”.
  • If you refuse Vitamin K for your baby, watch for loss of appetite, being sleepier than normal, or bruising. Also watch for bleeding from the mouth, nose, or belly button.
  • Other risks include bleeding in the brain, seizures, and death.
  • Questions? Ask your care team.

After a discussion with your health care provider, either can be refused by completing the Preventative Care of Infants After Birth Refusal Form (PDF). If you have any questions about either intervention, talk with your care team.

Ordering Newborn Screening Brochures

Each order contains a bundle of 25 brochures