Heel stick procedure and hearing test
Heel prick
The heel prick screens your baby for rare, but very serious diseases. The sooner these diseases are detected, the better, because early detection can limit or even prevent serious physical and mental damage. During the pregnancy or within a few days of the birth, we will give you an information brochure about the heel stick procedure.
The heel stick procedure (in Dutch) will be carried out by your midwife during a postnatal check between the 3rd and 6th day after the birth. You will only be informed about the results if there are any abnormalities. So in this case, “no news is good news”
Hearing test
As soon as you have registered your baby at the municipality, you will receive an invitation from the infant welfare centre (the “consultatiebureau”) for a hearing test (in Dutch). You will usually get this invitation within 10 days, and the test will usually take place on the 14th day.
You can take the hearing test at several locations of the Consultatiebureau (in dutch), but not all. So you might have to go to a different location than usual.