In the first quarter of this year, more than 21 thousand newborn babies were screened, indicates the National Institute Dr. Ricardo Jorge
The number of births in Portugal in the first quarter of the year reached the highest value since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, having been screened 21,065 newborns in 2023, through the "heel prick".
The data provided Tuesday to the Lusa agency by the National Health Institute Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA) indicate that, in the first three months of the year, 1,437 more babies were studied than in the same period of 2022 (19,628) under the National Programme for Newborn Screening (PNRN), coordinated by INSA, through its Neonatal Screening, Metabolism and Genetics Unit, of the Human Genetics Department.
Since the start of the pandemic, when 21,124 babies were screened in the first three months of 2020, the number of births did not exceed the barrier of 20,000 in the first trimester, with 18,226 newborns screened in 2021 and 19,628 in 2022 in the same period, according to data from the programme that covers almost all births in Portugal.
The data indicates that January was the month that recorded the highest number of births (7,649), followed by March (7,196) and lastly February with 6,220 babies.
In this first quarter, Lisbon was the district with the most tests carried out (6,251), followed by Porto (3,799), Setúbal (1,746), Braga (1,520), Faro (1,082) and Aveiro (970).
The lowest number of tests was observed in the district of Portalegre (121), Bragança (163), Vila Real (239), followed by Castelo Branco (249) and Viana do Castelo (363), according to the programme coordinated by INSA,
In 2022, Portugal once again surpassed the barrier of 80,000 births, after the historic drop in birth rate in 2021, 83,436 newborns that year, an increase of 5.3% compared to 2021 (79,217), the year in which Portugal recorded the lowest number of births.
Before this minimum recorded in 2021, the lowest number had been verified in 2014, with 83,100 examinations performed in the country, and the highest in the year 2000 (118,577), according to data consulted by Lusa.
The "heel prick" is performed from the third day of life of the newborn, through the collection of a few drops of blood on the foot of the child, and currently allows to detect 27 diseases, enabling early action and a healthier development of children.
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