Pregnancy and newborn screening
On this page
Pregnancy and newborn screening tests are offered to all pregnant women and their newborn babies. They assess the chance of you or your baby having a health or chromosomal condition.
See more information about screening in NHS Highland areas.
See all maternity and neonatal information.
Pregnancy and newborn screening
About pregnancy screening
Screening tests are offered to all pregnant women. They assess the chance of you or your baby having a health or chromosomal condition.
If the screening tests suggest your baby might have a health condition, you will be offered additional diagnostic tests to get a definite answer.
Screening is always your choice.
- You can choose to have screening tests to find out if you could have a health condition.
- You can choose to have screening tests to find out if your baby could have a health or chromosomal condition.
Depending on your screening test results, you can choose to have a diagnostic test to get a definite answer.
No one will test you unless they are sure you have chosen to have the test, know what the test is for and how it is done.
You will be offered blood tests and ultrasound scans to test for:
- blood count, blood group and Rhesus status (positive or negative)
- sickle cell and thalassaemia
- infectious diseases
- Down’s syndrome, Edwards’ syndrome and Patau’s syndrome
About newborn screening
All newborn babies are offered screening tests to check if they have a health condition. This means treatment can be started as soon as possible and may improve health outcomes.
Newborn screening tests are done in the first few weeks of life.
Newborn screening is your choice.
Your baby will be offered the following tests:
Who gets newborn hearing screening?
One or two babies in every 1,000 are born with a hearing loss in one or both ears. Most of these babies are born into families with no experience or history of hearing loss.
How does newborn hearing screening work?
The hearing screening test is a simple test that will be done within the first few weeks after a baby is born. The test looks for a clear response from both of a baby's ears.
The newborn hearing test is carried out by a trained health professional. It can be done in one of two ways, either:
- a small, soft earpiece is placed in the outer part of a baby’s ear
- three small sensors are placed on a baby’s head and neck, and a small, soft earpiece or headphone is placed in/over the baby’s ear
A computer will measure how well the ears respond to clicking sounds.
The test does not hurt and is not uncomfortable. It is very quick and often takes place while the baby's asleep.
If it is suspected that a baby has hearing loss, they will be referred to the audiology clinic for further tests.
Your baby's visit to the audiology clinic
Public Health Scotland have designed this leaflet for parents whose baby has been referred to the audiology clinic for a further hearing test. It explains why this test is needed and what is involved.
Your baby has a hearing loss
Public Health Scotland have designed this booklet to answers some common questions, and describe the support available for you and your baby if they have hearing loss. It also gives details of where you can go for further information.
You're pregnant! Scans and tests
Public Health Scotland has produced a leaflet explaining pregnancy screening in Scotland, why it's offered, and what happens next if a test finds that your baby might have a health condition or chromosomal condition.
The information is available in large print, Easy Read and languages other than English.
Important: Pregnancy screening at NHS inform
See more information at NHS inform about pregnancy screening, including information in BSL and alternative languages.
Pregnancy screening at NHS informYour baby! Tests offered
Public Health Scotland have developed this booklet. It explains what conditions your baby can be tested for and what the tests involve. The newborn screening tests offered to all babies in the first few days and weeks of their life aim to ensure conditions are identified and treatment is started as soon as possible.
Important: Newborn screening at NHS inform
See more information at NHS inform about newborn screening, including information in BSL and alternative languages.
Newborn screening at NHS informYour pregnancy, your choice
Public Health Scotland has produced a leaflet explaining what you need to know after getting a higher-chance screening result for Down's syndrome, or Edwards' syndrome or Patau's syndrome.
The information is available in Easy Read and languages other than English.
More resources
Antenatal Results and Choices is the national website for accessing support for antenatal results and choices that all Health Boards endorse.
Health screening
-
Screening programmes
Screening aims to identify people who are at risk of having a particular disease or medical condition before they sho...
-
Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening
The aim of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening is to find bulges or swellings in the aorta (the main artery whi...
-
Bowel screening
Bowel screening is offered to people aged 50 to 74 across Scotland to help find bowel cancer early, when it can often...
-
Breast screening
Breast screening is a test for breast cancers that are too small to see or feel.
-
Cervical screening
Cervical screening (smear test) is a quick test to check your cervix (neck of the womb) for the Human Papilloma Virus...
-
Diabetic eye screening
Diabetic eye screening (DES) is also known as diabetic retinopathy (or retinal) screening (DRS).
-
Pre-school vision screening
Pre-school vision screening - also called See4School - is an eye test for nursery-aged children. It detects reduced v...