The birth of a child is among the most joyous events human beings ever experience. After months of anticipation and preparation, a precious little one joins a family. Parents dream of the things they will do with this new arrival, the birthdays, the family vacations, the continuing of family traditions. Above all, parents hope to provide the best possible life for their new child. Imagine, after the child has been born and celebrated, brought home from the hospital, and brought into the bosom of the family, something just doesn't seem right. Perhaps it starts with the baby crying constantly, or not having interest in eating. In what seems like hours, a baby that seemed perfectly healthy is suddenly being rushed to the Emergency Room. Imagine learning that although they did everything right as parents, their baby has suffered irreparable brain damage and will be severely disabled for life. Or worse, imagine that the baby does not survive the medical crisis. Imagine learning that an incredibly simple and inexpensive screening test done within 24-48 hours of birth could have prevented it all. This article discusses this simple test--Comprehensive Newborn Screening. Newborn Screening is a procedure which saves precious lives every year, and yet, it is still widely unknown, and certainly poorly understood. The test is administered easily to newborns by taking a few drops of blood from the baby's heel and running it through a laboratory test system known as tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Physicians, specifically OB/GYN's, rarely discuss comprehensive newborn screening with expectant parents. Neither do pediatricians, midwives, or other birthing caregivers. After the birth of a child, hospital staffs rarely explain to new parents the importance or value of Newborn Screening. There is basically a widespread lack of knowledge about the importance of Comprehensive Newborn Screening. And this lack of knowledge is costing lives unnecessarily. (Contains 7 online resources.)