Consented testing of newborns and childbearing women for human immunodeficiency virus through a newborn metabolic screening program

OBJECTIVE: In this program a postpartum woman could consent to receive her newborn's human immunodeficiency virus test result from the New York State Newborn Screening Program. STUDY DESIGN: By state regulation each postpartum woman was counseled and o ffered her newborn's human immunodeficiency virus test result. With the mot her's consent, newborn human immunodeficiency virus antibody test results f rom the Newborn Screening Program were sent to the baby's pediatrician; oth erwise, test results were blinded. Data were analyzed for births from Augus t 1, 1996, to January 31, 1997. RESULTS: Overall, 92.5% of women offered newborn human immunodeficiency vir us testing consented to receive the result. Among 444 human immunodeficienc y virus-positive women offered newborn testing, consented testing resulted in a 21.4% increase in knowledge of human immunodeficiency virus status fro m 72.3% (n = 321) at delivery to 93.7% (n = 416) after newborn testing; 6.3 % (n = 28) of human immunodeficiency virus-positive women delivered of infa nts who did not consent apparently remained unaware of their human immunode ficiency virus status. CONCLUSION: Combined prenatal and consented newborn testing identified 94% of human immunodeficiency virus-positive mothers and exposed newborns, allo wing early entry into care. Such testing may provide an opportunity for wom en not previously tested for the human immunodeficiency virus to learn thei r status but is not a substitute for universal prenatal human immunodeficie ncy virus counseling and consented human immunodeficiency virus testing.