LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — A Lee’s Summit mom has fought for four years for a law that she believes will save babies’ lives in Missouri. Her persistance has paid off with the Missouri Legislature okaying a bill that will require a routine heart screening of newborns.
Just hours after Kelly Manz gave birth to her daughter, Chloe, in 2008, Kelly became concerned.
“I just felt like she wasn’t taking a deep breath and it bothered me,” says Kelly.
She was persistant with nurses. That led to testing that revealed Chloe had a severe heart defect. The main arteries were reversed.
“And she might have passed away shortly thereafter,” says Kelly, if Chloe’s problem hadn’t been detected and she hadn’t received medical treatment and then surgery.
Kelly soon learned that a simple, painless, non-invasive screening given around 24 hours after birth can detect serious heart defects. It’s the pulse oximetry test which measures the blood oxygen level. Kelly believes every baby should be screened since signs of heart trouble often aren’t obvious.
“I started out having no clue how to get a law passed,” says Kelly.
And for the first three years, her bill didn’t pass the Missouri Legislature. But this year, Kelly gained support from the American Heart Association and the March of Dimes. The bill will become law once Governor Jay Nixon signs it. It requires screening starting in January unless parents opt out of the test.
At St. Luke’s East in Lee’s Summit, the test is already done routinely on newborns. But the American Heart Association says some hospitals, especially rural ones, are not doing the screening even though all have the equipment.
The screening is inexpensive — between one and five dollars.
“I just get chills thinking about it. I just know that lives will be saved,” says Kelly.
Kelly says they’ll be saved because of Chloe’s Law which is named for her daughter.
