The New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) has announced the expansion of its universal prenatal and neonatal screening program for lead and mercury at Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick. The initiative aims to increase access to testing and improve health outcomes for pregnant individuals and newborns.
The program, led by NJDOH’s Public Health and Environmental Laboratories’ Biomonitoring Program, builds on six years of pilot testing at University Hospital in Newark. The initial phase at Saint Peter’s will screen 1,000 patients for lead and mercury exposure. Data collected will help the NJDOH assess the prevalence of heavy metal exposure among pregnant populations. After data evaluation, the goal is to establish this screening as a standard procedure at the hospital.
Universal prenatal testing allows early identification of emergency exposures that might otherwise go undetected or untreated. It empowers mothers to take steps to reduce exposure during pregnancy and enables healthcare professionals to intervene early, particularly for those at higher risk such as foreign-born mothers.
Exposure to lead and mercury can result in serious complications for both mothers and newborns. In mothers, these metals can cause preeclampsia, kidney damage, endocrine disorders, and impaired motor function. For newborns, risks include neurological damage, organ malformations, premature birth, learning difficulties, lower IQ, behavioral disorders, and even death.
Hospital data from previous years indicate that potentially harmful levels of lead are found in 13% of pregnancies and mercury in 60%, which is higher than national rates reported for other conditions such as gestational diabetes or preeclampsia.
“Estamos decididos a mejorar los resultados de salud para las madres y bebés de Nueva Jersey, y ampliar el acceso a las pruebas prenatales y neonatales nos ayudará a reducir el riesgo de intoxicación por plomo o mercurio mediante una intervención rápida”, said First Lady Tammy Murphy. “Este es un método sencillo, pero eficaz, para asegurar que las familias de Nueva Jersey estén conectadas con apoyo y tratamiento oportunos.”
As part of Nurture NJ, funding was included in last fiscal year’s budget to support technology needs for the program. Standard care now includes blood testing during the first prenatal visit and follow-up after birth. Educational resources about lead and mercury poisoning are also provided.
If elevated levels are detected through screening, patients receive intervention from hospital staff as well as local health departments and state agencies including NJDOH’s Child Lead Program.
“It’s more than identifying risks; it’s about improving outcomes,” said Acting Health Commissioner Jeff Brown. “Testing mothers during pregnancy and babies at birth allows us to provide guidance and treatment when it matters most. By taking steps to mitigate the risk of lead or mercury poisoning in mothers and newborns, health outcomes are changing for the better.”
Debra-Lynn Day-Salvatore MD PhD FAAP FACMGG of Saint Peter’s expressed gratitude for her hospital’s support: “We are very excited about the opportunity to participate in this successful public health initiative… I am personally grateful for the enthusiastic support from our hospital administration and from our Pediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Pathology departments for this project.”
Since launching at University Hospital in 2019 over 27,000 tests have been conducted on mothers and newborns. Results show that infants exposed to dangerous levels are more likely—by 75%—to require intensive care admission or have abnormal neonatal screening results.
“The program has an over 90% compliance rate both in our outpatient practice as well as intrapartum care,” said Dr. Onajovwe Fofah of University Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. “The multidisciplinary approach has led to early detection… maternal education in multiple languages with reduction in heavy metal levels… treatment of exposed babies…and monitoring their development.”
William J. Lowe III MD FACOG from Saint Peter’s noted: “We look forward to working with the Department of Health to expand lead/mercury testing into New Brunswick… It will be interesting to compare data between Newark/New Brunswick communities… This new information will enhance our understanding regarding exposure scope as well as responses to education/treatment.”
The program recently received recognition at national pediatric conferences—including a Top 10 award from the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine—and NJDOH plans further expansion into additional hospitals statewide.
