The 6 domestic university associations join hands with the 3 major screening centers to call on parents to take the first health check as soon as possible.

(Provided by the Taiwan Pediatric Association)

[Reporter Qiu Zhirou/Report from Taipei] The number of newborns in my country continues to decline. Not only are there fewer births, but 4.1 deaths per thousand babies, which has exceeded Japan and South Korea by 2 to 3 times for 20 consecutive years.

Xu Ruisheng, a physician at the Department of Genetic Medicine at National Taiwan University Hospital, pointed out that parents are most concerned about the health of newborns, but most genetic or congenital abnormalities do not show obvious symptoms immediately, so "newborn screening" is needed to check, but many Parents will delay the screening. "Decision-making time for screening is too short", "screening health education information is too little", and "beginning to understand screening items too late" are the three main reasons for newborn screening delays.

Taiwan Pediatric Medical Association, Taiwan Pediatric Neurology Association, Taiwan Perinatal Medical Association, Taiwan Neonatal Medical Association, Human Genetics Society of the Republic of China, Taiwan Spinal Muscular Atrophy Association, National Taiwan University School of Medicine Affiliated Hospital Newborn Screening Center , the Newborn Screening Team of the Clinical Pathology Department of the Taipei Pathology Center, and the Newborn Screening Center of the Medical Laboratory Affiliated to the National Health Care Foundation of the Republic of China jointly held a press conference today, calling on parents to carry out the first health check for babies as soon as possible.

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Xu Ruisheng pointed out that newborns can be screened within 48 hours of birth, and one heel blood test can be used for compulsory and optional examinations.

At present, the National Health Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare has subsidized the mandatory screening items for newborns, including ​congenital hypothyroidism, ​phenylketonuria, ​maple syrup urine disease, ​galactosemia, etc. 21 items, and can also be selected additionally Detect about 10 rare diseases of newborns, and double-check the baby's health.

Xu Ruisheng said that as many as 50% of the parents who are willing to be screened are screened later than the regular time. Most of the reasons are that the decision to conduct screening is too short, the screening health education information is too little, and they start to understand the screening program too late. etc. Therefore, it is recommended to understand the content of "additional screening" in advance, especially congenital metabolic abnormalities, which will cause harm to the baby at birth, and timely screening can be used for early treatment.

Guo Yunding, secretary-general of the Taiwan Pediatric Neurology Association and director of the Pediatric Neurology Department of Shuanghe Hospital, also said that many parents think that prenatal fetal diagnosis has been carried out and the baby is healthy, but in fact, prenatal diagnosis is not 100% accurate. Baby screening can directly confirm the baby's health.

In addition, in order to protect newborn babies, many parents will carry out the mandatory newborn screening later than the regular time. Many parents are not aware of this. All items are excluded from the insurance waiting period specification", reminding the public not to miss the opportunity to save newborns because of commercial insurance myths.

Based on the estimated birth rate in 2022, as many as 15,000 families will not undergo additional screening.

Guo Yunding said that among the rare diseases, as many as 8 are caused by genetic inheritance, and the additional screening of newborns covers a variety of treatable rare diseases, such as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS), Pompe disease ( PD) and so on, among them, the screening accuracy of spinal muscular atrophy with high incidence is high. If the screening is delayed or not screened, the golden opportunity for treatment may be missed.

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keywords

  • newborn

  • mortality rate

  • genetic inheritance

  • newborn screening

  • ​Phenylketonuria

  • ​Maple syrup urine disease

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