Published: 08/20/26

Newborn screening is one of the first health checks many newborns receive, often before families have even left the hospital. For most parents, it may feel like a routine part of those first few days. But when a family receives a call about an abnormal, positive, out-of-range, or high-risk newborn screening result, that routine moment can quickly become confusing and overwhelming.

During Newborn Screening Awareness Month, it is important to talk not only about why screening matters, but also about what may happen afterward. Some newborns need repeat testing and no further care. Others may need diagnostic testing, specialist follow-up, treatment, NICU care, or ongoing medical support after discharge. For families whose newborn or infant is diagnosed with a condition that requires continued care, the journey may eventually lead from the hospital or NICU to home. That transition can bring new questions about equipment, medications, monitoring, nursing support, and how to care for a medically complex infant in everyday family life. That is where understanding what next steps are available can help.

Quick Answer: What Happens After an Abnormal Newborn Screening Result?

An abnormal, positive, out-of-range, or high-risk newborn screening result does not always mean a newborn has a confirmed diagnosis. It usually means your newborn needs follow-up testing, additional evaluation, or care guidance from a health care provider. HRSA explains that an out-of-range newborn screening result may mean a newborn has the condition detected by the screening test, or that something else affected the result, which is why follow-up testing is important.

If follow-up testing confirms that a newborn or infant has a condition requiring ongoing medical support, families may need help preparing for life after the hospital or NICU. Pediatric home health care, private duty nursing, family education, and care coordination may help medically complex infants receive skilled support in the comfort of home when services are medically appropriate, ordered by a physician, and available based on eligibility, payer requirements, and state guidelines.

Newborn Screening Awareness Month: Why This Conversation Matters

Newborn Screening Awareness Month is an opportunity to help families better understand what newborn screening is, why follow-up matters, and what support may be available if a baby is diagnosed with a condition that requires ongoing care. For many parents, newborn screening happens during the first days of life, often while they are still adjusting to having a new baby. In many cases, the screening process may feel routine. Families may not think much about it unless they receive a call saying their baby needs repeat testing, follow-up testing, or additional evaluation.

That call can feel overwhelming.

Parents may wonder what the result means, whether their newborn has a confirmed diagnosis, what happens next, and how their family should prepare. Those questions are completely understandable. At Team Select Home Care, we do not perform newborn screenings. Newborn screening is typically completed through hospitals, state programs, laboratories, and health care providers. But Team Select may become part of the care journey later, when an infant or child has ongoing medical needs and the family is preparing for care at home.

For some families, newborn screening is one step in a longer care journey from early identification to diagnosis, treatment, discharge planning, and exploring home-based support.

What Is Newborn Screening?

Newborn screening is a public health process that helps identify certain serious conditions early, often before symptoms appear. HRSA explains that newborn screening helps identify newborns who may need diagnosis, treatment, or early intervention.

Newborn screening may include blood spot screening, hearing screening, and screening for critical congenital heart defects. HRSA describes the newborn screening process as including blood spot screening between 24 and 48 hours after birth, hearing screening, and pulse oximetry screening to help determine whether an infant may have certain forms of critical congenital heart disease.

For most families, newborn screening does not lead to a long-term medical journey. But when a result is out of range, inconclusive, or requires additional follow-up, the next question often becomes: What happens now?

When Newborn Screening Leads to More Questions

Hearing that your newborn has an abnormal newborn screening result can be frightening. It is natural for parents to immediately worry about what the result means and whether their newborn has a serious condition. But screening is not the same as diagnosis.

An out-of-range newborn screening result usually means a baby needs additional testing or evaluation. HRSA notes that follow-up testing often includes diagnostic testing to determine whether a baby has the condition. Some families may be told that the result is abnormal, positive, high-risk, borderline, inconclusive, or out of range. Those terms can sound alarming, but they all point to the need for additional guidance from a health care provider. Families should follow the instructions they receive from their child’s provider, specialist, hospital team, or state newborn screening program.

If additional testing shows that your newborn does not have the condition, the family may not need ongoing care related to that screening result. If a diagnosis is confirmed, the care team may begin discussing treatment, monitoring, specialist care, and what your child may need at home.

For some newborns, that may include a hospital stay, NICU care, equipment, medications, feeding support, respiratory support, or other ongoing medical needs.

From Diagnosis to Discharge: Preparing to Bring Your Baby Home

When an infant is diagnosed with a condition that requires ongoing care, families may suddenly need to learn a new language of medical routines, equipment, appointments, and warning signs.

Parents may be asked to understand medications, feeding schedules, respiratory support, oxygen needs, monitoring instructions, emergency plans, therapy referrals, specialist visits, or equipment setup. At the same time, they are still bonding with their newborn and trying to process what the diagnosis means for their family. For families leaving the NICU or hospital with a medically complex infant, discharge planning can feel both hopeful and intimidating.

Going home is a major milestone. It can also come with questions about how care will be managed at home, what to do if something changes, who to call with concerns, whether nursing support may be available, what equipment or supplies will be needed, and how the family can balance medical care with everyday life. These questions are not signs that a family is unprepared. They are part of preparing well.

A strong hospital-to-home plan should help families understand their child’s care needs, follow-up appointments, equipment, medications, safety instructions, and available support options. When an infant has ongoing skilled nursing needs, the care team may also discuss whether pediatric home health care or private duty nursing may be appropriate.

How Pediatric Home Health Care May Support Medically Complex Infants

Pediatric home health care can help families care for a medically complex infant at home by providing skilled nursing support, care coordination, family education, and help following the child’s physician-directed care plan. Depending on the infant’s needs, physician orders, eligibility, state guidelines, and available services, pediatric home health care may support care related to feeding tubes, respiratory needs, oxygen support, medication administration, seizure monitoring, tracheostomy care, ventilator support, cardiac needs, or other skilled care needs.

For parents, this support can make the transition home feel more manageable.

A pediatric home health nurse may help monitor an infant’s condition, follow the care plan, document changes, communicate with the family and care team, and support daily care routines in the home. This can be especially meaningful when families are learning complex care after a diagnosis, NICU stay, or hospital discharge. Pediatric home health care does not replace the parent’s role. Parents remain central to their child’s care, comfort, routines, and decision-making. Instead, home health care helps build a care team around the family so they are not navigating every responsibility alone.

At Team Select Home Care, pediatric services are designed to support medically complex children and their families in the home. When services are appropriate and available, our teams work with families, physicians, case managers, and care teams to help children receive care in a familiar environment.

How Private Duty Nursing Can Help With the Hospital-to-Home Transition

Private duty nursing is one-on-one skilled nursing care that may support infants or children who need ongoing medical care at home. For a medically complex infant, private duty nursing may help create consistency during the hospital-to-home transition. A nurse may work scheduled shifts with the child and family, depending on the care plan, authorization, staffing availability, and state-specific requirements.

This type of care can be especially helpful for infants who require ongoing monitoring, respiratory support, feeding support, medication administration, equipment care, or other skilled needs. The nurse’s role is to follow the physician-directed care plan, provide skilled support within their scope of practice, document care, communicate changes, and help the family feel more supported at home. For many parents, the transition home can feel less overwhelming when they know a trained nurse is helping support their child’s needs.

Private duty nursing may also help families build confidence over time. Parents often become deeply knowledgeable about their child’s care, but they should not have to learn everything alone. A strong care team can help families understand routines, ask questions, and adjust to home-based care in a way that feels more supported. For families searching for private duty nursing for infants, pediatric private duty nursing after NICU discharge, or home health care for medically complex babies, the most important first step is understanding whether their infant’s needs may qualify for services based on medical necessity, physician orders, payer requirements, and state guidelines.

Newborn Screening, Critical Congenital Heart Defects, and Follow-Up Care

One important part of newborn screening is screening for critical congenital heart defects, often called CCHDs. CDC explains that newborn screening for critical congenital heart defects uses pulse oximetry, a simple bedside test that checks oxygen levels in the blood. Low oxygen levels may be a sign of a critical heart defect.

CDC also notes that mandated newborn screening using pulse oximetry has reduced early infant deaths from critical congenital heart defects by 33%, averting about 120 early infant deaths from critical congenital heart defects per year. If a newborn needs follow-up care after a heart screening, families should work closely with their health care provider, hospital team, cardiologist, or specialist. Some infants may need additional testing, monitoring, treatment, surgery, or ongoing care planning.

For infants with ongoing cardiac or respiratory needs after discharge, pediatric home health care may be part of the broader care plan when medically appropriate. In those situations, the goal is to help families safely transition from hospital-based care to home-based support while staying connected to the child’s physicians and care team.

What Families Should Ask Before Discharge

Before bringing a medically complex infant home from the hospital or NICU, families deserve clear information. Discharge can feel emotional, and it is easy to forget questions in the moment. Writing questions down ahead of time can help parents feel more prepared. Families may want to ask their hospital team what care tasks will need to be completed at home, what warning signs require a call to the provider, what symptoms require urgent care, what medications or equipment will be used, and what follow-up appointments are needed.

It can also be helpful to ask whether your child may qualify for pediatric home health care or private duty nursing. If home health care is recommended, families can ask what physician orders or documentation may be needed, how authorization works, whether insurance or Medicaid may be involved, and when services may begin. Parents may also want to ask who they should contact after discharge if they have questions. Knowing who to call can make the first days at home feel less uncertain.

A medically complex infant’s discharge plan may include many moving parts. Families should not be afraid to ask the same question more than once or request that instructions be explained in a different way. Clear communication helps families feel more confident as they prepare for home.

How Team Select Home Care Supports Families After the Hospital

At Team Select Home Care, we understand that bringing a medically complex child home can be both meaningful and overwhelming. Families may be excited to leave the hospital while also feeling nervous about managing care at home, learning new equipment, adjusting to new routines, coordinating appointments, and trying to understand what support may be available. Team Select supports medically complex children and their families through pediatric home health care, private duty nursing, family-centered communication, personalized care planning, and care coordination.

Depending on location, eligibility, physician orders, payer requirements, and available services, our teams may help families navigate next steps and understand what home-based care can look like. For parents, pediatric home health care is not only about clinical tasks. It can also mean having someone to help monitor changes, communicate concerns, support daily care routines, and provide skilled care in the place many families want their child most: home.

Newborn Screening Is the Beginning of the Conversation, Not the End

Newborn screening can be an important first step in identifying certain conditions early, but the journey after screening looks different for every family. Some infants need repeat testing and no further care. Some need specialist follow-up. Some receive a diagnosis and begin treatment. Others may need hospital care, NICU support, or a long-term plan for home-based care.

No matter what comes next, families deserve clear answers, compassionate guidance, and support that meets their child’s needs. If your baby has an abnormal newborn screening result, follow your health care provider’s instructions for follow-up testing and evaluation. If your baby is diagnosed with a condition that requires ongoing medical support, ask your care team whether pediatric home health care or private duty nursing may be part of the plan for transitioning home.

You Do Not Have to Navigate the Hospital-to-Home Journey Alone

If your baby or child has ongoing medical needs after a newborn screening result, diagnosis, NICU stay, or hospital discharge, Team Select Home Care can help your family understand pediatric home health care options, private duty nursing services, and possible next steps based on your location, eligibility, physician orders, payer requirements, and available services.

That philosophy influences every part of our organization—from the way we build one-on-one patient relationships through Private Duty Nursing to the way we support our clinical teams, invest in award-winning technology, advocate for stronger home health care policies, and maintain a commitment to quality across every community we serve.

Many home health care companies provide jobs. At Team Select Home Care, we’re focused on helping healthcare professionals build meaningful careers.

Whether you’re looking for personalized patient relationships, flexible scheduling, supportive clinical leadership, professional growth, innovative technology, or an employer helping shape the future of home health care, you’ll find a team committed to helping you succeed while making a meaningful difference every day.

Frequently Asked Questions Newborn Screening