A Pulse Ox Bill in Virginia: Mandating Pulse Ox Screening for All Newbor

After seeing that New Jersey became the First State in the Nation to Mandate Pulse Ox screening for ALL Newborns I got to chatting on facebook with several other amazing CHD advocates in Virginia. I have been talking with a few others about working on a bill for the past couple of months, but I have had a hard time finding the time to get together to talk about it.

After NJ passed the law, I got all fired up, along with advocates across the entire country! It is such an amazing feeling to be in the middle of something that is going to ultimately mandate Pulse Ox screening in every hospital across the nation.

Owain is one very lucky little boy, his O2 sats were down to 40% when they realized something was wrong with him. Even though I mentioned over and over that I thought he was dark. I KNEW something was wrong. Pulse Ox testing should be on the minds of every labor and delivery nurse and every nurse that is assigned to newborns until they are discharged. When I asked if Owain looked dark, the nurse should have pulled out a pulse ox. It is such a simple and non-invasive test that would have taken 30 seconds to figure out that my son should have been emergency transported to UVa immediately. It should not have taken 14 hours to get him the care that he needed.

Owain was lucky. He is lucky to be alive. He is lucky he doesn’t have brain damage from such low oxygen levels. We are very lucky to have him here with us. Too many families are not as lucky as we are.

Myself, along with 3 other amazing Heart Moms and CHD advocates have started a Pulse Ox Virginia group on facebook. We will be posting sample letters to be sent to Virginia representatives, and working with others across the state of Virginia to get a bill passed that will mandate Pulse Ox screening for all newborns in the state. Every Last One.

Join us while we create laws and save lives