About the screenings

We offer to take a blood sample from your child’s heel. This is also called a PKU test or a blood spot test. We test the blood for a number of rare, congenital diseases.

We also offer to check your child's eyes for rare congenital eye diseases, including cataracts that are present from birth. When congenital eye diseases are found early, we can minimise the risk of low vision or blindness in your child.

We take the heel blood sample and carry out the examination for congenital eye diseases 48-72 hours after birth. At the same time, we often also do a hearing test, called a hearing screening or OAE test. The test shows whether your child hears normally. Children use their hearing as an important part of their language, social and psychological development. If we detect hearing loss early, there is a better chance that we can help your child develop normal or improved hearing.

You should expect to spend about 20 minutes at the hospital for the examinations. However, there may be some waiting time.

You have an appointment

Date: ______________________         Time: ________________

Check the contact details to find out where to go for the examination.

Important preparation

Contact us if you need to cancel or are delayed

Contact us if you are delayed, want to cancel or have questions about the examination. You can find the phone number under contact details.

Arrive in good time if you are travelling by car

It can be difficult to find a free parking space within the hospital grounds. Allow extra time for parking. Read more about parking facilities on our website www.herlevhospital.dk/parkering.

Let siblings stay at home

As the hearing screening must take place in complete silence, we recommend that siblings do not come along for the examination.

Your child must sleep during the hearing screening

It helps if your child is asleep when we do the hearing test. You can therefore try to keep your child awake until just before the examination, change your child’s diaper and feed your child shortly beforehand so your child falls asleep more easily.

At the hospital

Switch off phones

To ensure peace and quiet, we ask you to switch off your phone while we examine your child's hearing.

Hearing test
We insert a small earphone in your child’s ear. The earphone sends clicking sounds into the ear canal. When the inner ear, called the cochlea, receives sound, the ear should send back an echo that the earphones pick up. This is how we test your childs hearing.
In some cases, the earphones do not pick up an echo. This does not necessarily mean that your child cannot hear. It could be due to waxy residue from birth (vernix caseosa) in the ear canals, background noise, your child moving or the machine not measuring correctly. It is normal for newborns to have waxy residue from birth in the ear canal, and it will disappear on its own.
If the earphone does not pick up an echo, we will offer you a new hearing test at a later date.

Examination for congenital eye diseases

During the examination, we shine a special light into your child's eyes. When light hits the retina at the back of the eye, we usually see a red/orange reflex in the eye. If we see this red/orange reflex in the eyes, your child does not need further examination. If we do not see the red/orange reflex in one or both eyes, we will refer your child to an eye specialist to determine if your child has a congenital eye disease. For most children, the examination at the eye specialist will show that the vision is normal. The examination is repeated by your child's own doctor at the five-week check-up.

Heel blood sample

We take the blood sample by pricking the outer part of your child's heel with a needle. We squeeze out a few drops of blood and collect them in a small tube. We then send the blood sample for further testing.

Results of the hearing test

You will get the result of the hearing test straight away. If repeated tests show that your child may have reduced hearing, we will offer you further examinations. The hospital you are referred to for further tests depends on your postcode. You will receive the invitation by letter or through Digital Post.

Results of the blood test

You will only receive a result if the blood test shows signs of disease. In this case, a paediatrician will explain the next steps. We will contact you within one week if the blood test shows signs of disease.

Learn more

You can find more information about the PKU test on the website of Statens Serum Institut: www.ssi.dk/nyfoedte (in Danish only).