More than four million babies born in the U.S. every year are given a routine "heel-stick" blood test in the hospital to check for dozens of disorders.

About 4,000 infants will be diagnosed with a condition, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Now, a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that the test isn't an effective screening tool for a leading cause of hearing loss in children.

On "The Early Show," CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton explained the study found the "heel-stick" test may not catch some cytomegolovirus (CMV) infections.

"(The infection is) very, very common and, in its early stages, it can be treated supportively with an antiviral medication. If not treated, it can go on to cause hearing loss and deafness. And obviously in a newborn, in a child, you don't want them to have a hearing problem, because hearing has a very serious impact on speech development."

The "heel-stick" test is done on a small blood sample prick from the infant's heel, which very similar to a diabetic blood sugar test. However, according to researchers, the test is not suitable for mass tests on newborns anymore.

Ashton said, "For a test to be accurate, you want it to be positive or detect the disease about 95 percent of the time," she said. "What they found in studying this CMV 'heel-stick' blood test is it only detected about 30 percent or 40 percent of CMV infections, so it's not a great test."

Ashton said there are other saliva tests that could detect this infection more effectively, but they're more labor intensive.

Ashton said there isn't any national standard for testing babies in the hospital. She said most of the testing gets done on a newborn after about 24 hours of life.

She said, "(Testing) does vary state to state, and in general, what the pediatricians are testing for are certain genetically inherited metabolic, hormonal, functional disorders that ideally have both accuracy in terms of the test, as well as an effective treatment."

She said hospitals perform 29 core blood tests on the newborn, in addition to a direct hearing test, and then some states do an additional 25 tests for secondary disorders.

Ashton suggested pregnant women speak to a pediatrician prior to giving birth about the tests performed in the hospital.

She said, "If you have certainly a family history of a genetic disorder, or if you have another child who's been impacted with a genetic disorder, or, if, in general, you just have other reasons to be concerned, you want to talk to the pediatrician about that and find out what testing can be done in the hospital in that neonatal period."

"(In some cases) the earlier intervention and treatment, the better, (such as) certain things like PKU (phenylketonuria), which some people may know about is a metabolic disorder that can have a serious impact on nutritional status and brain development. So some things you want to intervene right away."

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PregnancyWeekly.com

More than four million babies born in the U.S. every year are given a routine "heel-stick" blood test in the hospital to check for dozens of disorders.

About 4,000 infants will be diagnosed with a condition, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Now, a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that the test isn't an effective screening tool for a leading cause of hearing loss in children.

On "The Early Show," CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton explained the study found the "heel-stick" test may not catch some cytomegolovirus (CMV) infections.

"(The infection is) very, very common and, in its early stages, it can be treated supportively with an antiviral medication. If not treated, it can go on to cause hearing loss and deafness. And obviously in a newborn, in a child, you don't want them to have a hearing problem, because hearing has a very serious impact on speech development."

The "heel-stick" test is done on a small blood sample prick from the infant's heel, which very similar to a diabetic blood sugar test. However, according to researchers, the test is not suitable for mass tests on newborns anymore.

Ashton said, "For a test to be accurate, you want it to be positive or detect the disease about 95 percent of the time," she said. "What they found in studying this CMV 'heel-stick' blood test is it only detected about 30 percent or 40 percent of CMV infections, so it's not a great test."

Ashton said there are other saliva tests that could detect this infection more effectively, but they're more labor intensive.

Ashton said there isn't any national standard for testing babies in the hospital. She said most of the testing gets done on a newborn after about 24 hours of life.

She said, "(Testing) does vary state to state, and in general, what the pediatricians are testing for are certain genetically inherited metabolic, hormonal, functional disorders that ideally have both accuracy in terms of the test, as well as an effective treatment."

She said hospitals perform 29 core blood tests on the newborn, in addition to a direct hearing test, and then some states do an additional 25 tests for secondary disorders.

Ashton suggested pregnant women speak to a pediatrician prior to giving birth about the tests performed in the hospital.

She said, "If you have certainly a family history of a genetic disorder, or if you have another child who's been impacted with a genetic disorder, or, if, in general, you just have other reasons to be concerned, you want to talk to the pediatrician about that and find out what testing can be done in the hospital in that neonatal period."

"(In some cases) the earlier intervention and treatment, the better, (such as) certain things like PKU (phenylketonuria), which some people may know about is a metabolic disorder that can have a serious impact on nutritional status and brain development. So some things you want to intervene right away."

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PregnancyWeekly.com

The lives of nearly 900 babies would be saved each year, along with billions of dollars, if 90 percent of U.S. women breastfed their babies for the first six months of life, a cost analysis says.

Those startling results, published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics, are only an estimate. But several experts who reviewed the analysis said the methods and conclusions seem sound.

"The health care system has got to be aware that breast-feeding makes a profound difference," said Dr. Ruth Lawrence, who heads the American Academy of Pediatrics' breast-feeding section.

The findings suggest that there are hundreds of deaths and many more costly illnesses each year from health problems that breast-feeding may help prevent. These include stomach viruses, ear infections, asthma, juvenile diabetes, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and even childhood leukemia.

The magnitude of health benefits linked to breast-feeding is vastly under-appreciated, said lead author Dr. Melissa Bartick, an internist and instructor at Harvard Medical School. Breast-feeding is sometimes considered a lifestyle choice, but Bartick calls it a public health issue.

Among the benefits: Breast milk contains antibodies that help babies fight infections; it also can affect insulin levels in the blood, which may make breast-fed babies less likely to develop diabetes and obesity.

The analysis studied the prevalence of 10 common childhood illnesses, costs of treating those diseases, including hospitalization, and the level of disease protection other studies have linked with breast-feeding.

The $13 billion in estimated losses due to the low breast-feeding rate includes an economists' calculation partly based on lost potential lifetime wages - $10.56 million per death.

About 43 percent of U.S. mothers do at least some breast-feeding for six months, but only 12 percent follow government guidelines recommending that babies receive only breast milk for six months.

Dr. Larry Gray, a University of Chicago pediatrician, called the analysis compelling and said it's reasonable to strive for 90 percent compliance.

But he also said mothers who don't breast-feed for six months shouldn't be blamed or made to feel guilty, because their jobs and other demands often make it impossible to do so.

"We'd all love as pediatricians to be able to carry this information into the boardrooms by saying we all gain by small changes at the workplace" that encourage breast-feeding, Gray said.

Bartick said there are some encouraging signs. The government's new health care overhaul requires large employers to provide private places for working mothers to pump breast milk. And under a provision enacted April 1 by the Joint Commission, a hospital accrediting agency, hospitals may be evaluated on their efforts to ensure that newborns are fed only breast milk before they're sent home.

The pediatrics academy says babies should be given a chance to start breast-feeding immediately after birth. Bartick said that often doesn't happen, and at many hospitals newborns are offered formula even when their mothers intend to breast-feed.

"Hospital practices need to change to be more in line with evidence-based care," Bartick said. "We really shouldn't be blaming mothers for this."

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PregnancyWeekly.com

Most parents believe that vaccines protect their children against disease, but one in four think some vaccines cause autism in healthy children, and nearly one in eight have refused at least one recommended vaccine, a new study has found.

The vaccine most likely to have been rejected by parents was for human papillomavirus, or HPV, to protect against cervical cancer, according to the report. It was based on questions asked of more than 1,500 parents of children 17 and younger. Many parents also rejected the chickenpox vaccine, the meningococcal conjugate vaccine against bacterial meningitis and, to a lesser extent, the MMR, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella.

Just last month, the British medical journal The Lancet retracted the 1998 study that first linked the MMR vaccine to autism and set off widespread fears about vaccine safety.

“We were sobered to find that one in four parents erroneously believe that vaccines can cause autism in an otherwise healthy child,” said Dr. Gary L. Freed, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan and the lead author of the paper, published online on March 1 by the journal Pediatrics. “Fortunately, they are still overwhelmingly vaccinating their children.”

Nine of 10 parents agreed that vaccines protected children from disease, but more than half said they were concerned about serious adverse effects.

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PregnancyWeekly.com

With the H1N1 making the rounds and taking its toll on many pregnant women and babies, the spread of infection is in the spotlight. Receiving the vaccination is a good step, but there are other types of infections that can be spread, for which no vaccines are available.

About 1.24% of births in a hospital lead to a healthcare-associated infection. The hospital environment is notably sterile; unfortunately this leaves only the strongest bugs to survive. Pregnant women and infants have weaker immune systems making it an even riskier situation. In addition, studies have shown that only about half of doctors and nurses wash their hands between patients. Here are steps you can take and things to watch out for to avoid a healthcare-associated infection:

• Reduce invasive procedures. As much as possible try to limit epidurals, cesarean sections, catheters, IVs, internal monitors and episiotomies. Sometimes these procedures are necessary, but they can increase the risk of infection.
• Keep vaginal exams to a minimum.
• Try to find a hospital that has a separate maternity suite to the rest of the hospital.
• Nurses and doctors should be in full gown with gloves and mask when performing invasive procedures, such as inserting a catheter.
• Anyone entering the room should wash their hands thoroughly before touching the mother or baby. Don’t be afraid to insist on it for friends, family and medical professionals. Medical professionals will completely understand if you ask them to wash their hands in front of you.
• Sick friends, family members and medical professionals should stay away from the mother and baby.
• Disinfect areas with an alcohol-based sanitizer where the mother’s skin comes in contact, such as the birth ball.
• If, after giving birth, you find yourself becoming sick directly after, or feel increasing pain, return to the hospital immediately.

Kimberley-Clark is working to educate medical professionals and consumers about healthcare-associated infections in a campaign called “Not on My Watch”. Find out more information here.

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PregnancyWeekly.com