Following the Delhi government’s announcement of the Advanced Newborn Monitoring and Optimal Lifecare (ANMOL) scheme, doctors in the Capital said the expanded screening will enable early diagnosis of several conditions while noting a growing willingness among parents to opt for such tests.
The scheme provides 56 diagnostic tests for newborns using a single drop of blood. Doctors said such screening could help detect conditions that often go unnoticed until symptoms become severe.
Dr. Poonam Sidana, Director of Neonatology and Paediatrics at CK Birla Hospital, said, “Earlier, conditions like lethargy or seizures were often misdiagnosed as infections or septicemia. Infants could even die without a clear diagnosis.”
However, now with wider availability of screening, conditions like congenital hypothyroidism, with an occurrence of around one in 1,200–1,500 births, can be identified within the first few days of life, improving long-term outcomes.
Doctors said that most hospitals conduct basic mandatory screenings like hearing and thyroid tests for newborns. In addition, panels for around seven or more common metabolic or genetic conditions are typically offered within the first week of life. More extensive testing, including genetic or DNA-based tests, is usually carried out only when clinically indicated and may be unaffordable for many families.
