Pulse Ox Test

Yesterday, I received an email from an old college friend. She has 2, small children; one boy, and one girl. Her youngest (the girl) was born with multiple issues with her heart. Check out her website for more info on her beautiful, little girl - Ashley.

In her email, my friend encouraged me to ensure that our newborn (when he arrives) receives a pulse ox test. Please read an excerpt of her email below...I hope this may help others as well! I plan to definitely ask for this test when our new baby arrives!

...I did want to ask you to consider asking for a pulse ox test after your children are born. Heart defects are the number one birth defect in this country. A majority of the doctors and hospitals do not test for heart defects and many babies are sent home and the defects are not caught until weeks or months later... A pulse oximeter is a red light taped to the babies toe or foot and the light reads how much oxygen is in the babies blood. The good range for a newborn is 94-97%, it will increase to 100% as the days pass and an open valve between the pulmonary artery and aorta closes(which is typical for all newborns). Ashley’s was at 88% even on oxygen when she was born but she had a noticeable heart murmur. I’m not sure how much a hospital would charge for this test but my pediatrician charged our insurance $50 for a pulse ox in the office. If a pulse ox is not done please know some of the warning sign of heart defects are bluish color, poor weight gain, poor eating, difficulty breathing...