Newborn physical examination - Your pregnancy and baby guide

All parents are offered a thorough physical examination for their baby within 72 hours of giving birth.

The examination includes screening tests to find out if your baby has any problems with their eyes, heart, hips and, in boys, testicles (testes).

Coronavirus update

Newborn screening appointments and vaccinations are continuing as normal, including the:

newborn blood spot test
newborn hearing screening test
newborn physical examination

It's important to go to your appointments unless you, your baby or someone you live with has symptoms of coronavirus.

What is the newborn physical examination?

The newborn physical examination is usually carried out in hospital before you go home.

Sometimes it's done at a hospital or community clinic, GP surgery, children's centre or at home.

Ideally, both parents should be there when the examination is done.

The health professional doing the examination should explain what it involves.

This could be a doctor, midwife, nurse or health visitor who's been trained to do the examination.

Some parts of the examination may be a bit uncomfortable for your baby, but it will not cause them any pain.

The aim is to spot any problems early so treatment can be started as soon as possible. Usually, nothing of concern is found.

If the health professional carrying out the examination does find a possible problem, they may refer your baby for more tests.

You'll be offered another physical examination for your baby at 6 to 8 weeks, as some of the conditions it screens for can take a while to develop.

This second examination is usually done at your GP's surgery.

A baby having a newborn physical examination.

How is the newborn physical examination done?

The health professional will give your baby a thorough physical examination.

They'll also ask you questions about how your baby is feeding, how alert they are, and about their general wellbeing.

Your baby will need to be undressed for part of the examination.

During the examination, the health professional will also:

look into your baby's eyes with a special torch to check how their eyes look and move
listen to your baby's heart to check their heart sounds
examine their hips to check the joints
examine baby boys to see if their testicles have descended into the scrotum

What does the newborn physical examination check for?

The examination includes an overall physical check, plus 4 different screening tests.

Eyes

The health professional will check the appearance and movement of your baby's eyes.

They're looking for cataracts, which is a clouding of the transparent lens inside the eye, and other conditions.

About 2 or 3 in 10,000 babies are born with problems with their eyes that need treatment.

But the examination cannot tell you how well your baby can see.

Find out how cataracts are diagnosed and treated

Heart

The health professional will check your baby's heart. This is done by observing your baby, feeling your baby's pulses, and listening to their heart with a stethoscope.

Sometimes heart murmurs are picked up. A heart murmur is where the heartbeat has an extra or unusual sound caused by a disturbed blood flow through the heart.

Heart murmurs are common in babies. The heart is normal in almost all cases where a murmur is heard.

But about 1 in 200 babies has a heart problem that needs treatment.

Find out more about diagnosing and treating heart problems in newborns

Hips

Some newborns have hip joints that are not formed properly. This is known as developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH).

Left untreated, it can cause a limp or joint problems. About 1 or 2 in 1,000 babies have DDH that needs to be treated.

Find out more about developmental dysplasia of the hip

Testicles

Baby boys are checked to make sure their testicles are in the right place.

During pregnancy, the testicles form inside the baby's body. They may not drop down into the scrotum until a few months after birth.

In about 1 in 100 baby boys, the testicles only descend partially or not at all.

This needs to be treated to prevent possible problems later in life, such as reduced fertility.

Find out more about undescended testicles

Does my baby have to have the examination?

The aim of the examination is to identify any of the problems early so treatment can be started as soon as possible.

It's strongly recommended for your baby, but not compulsory.

You can decide to have your baby examined and screened for any or all of the conditions.

If you have any concerns, you should talk to your midwife or the health professional offering the examination.

When will we get the results?

The health professional carrying out the examination will give you the results straight away.

If your baby needs to be referred for more tests, they'll discuss this with you there and then, too.

The results will be recorded in your baby's personal child health record (red book).

You'll need to keep this safe and have it to hand whenever your baby sees a health professional.

If you have any concerns, you can discuss them with your midwife or the health professional who does the examination.

Download a leaflet about screening tests for you and your baby

Page last reviewed: 23 February 2018
Next review due: 23 February 2021