heel prick

Hi,

I want to know if pakiaan does** neonatal heel prick** on newborn aby’s. Here In holland its normal routine that every baby gets a heel prick in the first week. With this neonatal heel prick the can see if there is a problem with he baby.

The neonatal heel prick is a common procedure for taking a blood sample from the heel of newborn infants. A pinprick puncture is made in the heel of the infant’s foot, and blood from the foot is soaked into pre-printed collection cards known as Guthrie cards.
The blood samples can be used for a variety of genetic test, including: Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) to detect hypothyroidism and hence prevent cretinism.

  • Trypsin to detect cystic fibrosis.
  • Detection of phenykyletonuria , an enzyme deficiency that can impair brain development.

Other potential tests include:

  • A test for galactosemia

It is recommended that the screening test be performed when the infant is between 48 and 72 hours of age. False positives and negatives can sometimes occur when the screening tests are performed before 48 hours.
With genetic tests becoming more common, a wide variety of tests may use the blood drawn by this method. Many neonatal units (SCBUs) now use this method to carry out the daily blood tests (blood count, electrolytes) required to check the progress of ill neonates.
In the UK the NHS test for:

  • Hypothyroidism
  • Cystic fibrosis
  • Phenylketonuria (PKU)
  • Medium Chain Acyl Co-A Dehydrogenase Deficiency (MCADD)
  • Sickle Cell .

Please let me know. If they do this in Pakistan. CAn you do this everywhere. I want to emigrate to pakistan. Thats the reason why I am asking for this information.

Re: heel prick

for you all general question- if that is done in Pakistan or this is done in Pakistan.

keep in mind that doctors are qualified similar to western standards, the only difference is cause Pakistan doesnt have a unified health system and hence the procedures vary from one hospital to another depending on the hospital type, size, budget, public/private etc.

but rest assured, in a good hospital post natal care should be done as normal procedures around the world, but if you are unsure, you can always demand what you want to get it done. :)

Re: heel prick

I agree with the pp. Procedures vary from hospital to hospital. Though none of kids got tested through the heel prick! And it was a well known quite good hospital. Probably if I'd known about it then I'd have asked for it.