Abstract Introduction The newborn hearing screening (NHS) is the most effective strategy for detecting newborns and infants suspected to have hearing loss. Objective To verify possible associations between the route of delivery and the results of the NHS conducted at 3 independent times (24, 36, and 36 hours with a facilitator auricular maneuver [FAM]) in the lives of full-term newborns. Methods A descriptive, observational, prospective study performed with a sample of 462 newborns, with a gestational age ≥ 37 weeks, without risk indicators of hearing loss. The NHS was conducted as a routine element of the facilities, two times: at 24 and 36 hours of life. In the presence of a “failure” in the last test, a new one was immediately performed, following the FAM. Statistic analyses were carried out on the program SPSS version 21.0 (IBM Inc., Armonk, NY, USA). Results Of the 462 newborns assessed, 304 (65.80%) were born by vaginal delivery. There was a statistical significance of “pass” in the NHS for the 24-hour evaluation (p≤ 0.001 for a vaginal delivery and p= 0.002 for a cesarean delivery), with the prevalence of the “pass” index being higher when the baby's lifespan was greater. A statistically significant difference was not observed when the NHS results were compared by taking into account the babies' routes of delivery and the different times of life. Conclusion These findings show that full-term babies who were born by cesarean did not show more “failure” in the NHS results, contradicting the hypothesis of the study. Furthermore, to reduce the false-negative rates, regardless of the route of delivery, this assessment should be conducted after the first 24 hours of the newborns' life.

Introduction  In pregnancy, the mother and fetus share body structures based on the maternal organism. Exposure to psychoactive drugs in this period may have repercussions on the baby's hearing. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate this association. Aim  Analyze the results of newborn hearing screening (NHS), the occurrence of associated risk factors, and the incidence of hearing loss in newborn exposed to psychoactive drugs during pregnancy. Methods  This is an observational retrospective study done from a database analysis. From this database, records were selected about the use of psychoactive drugs by mothers during pregnancy, then the neonates were divide into two groups: the study group (146 babies exposed to drugs) and the control group (500 babies not exposed to drugs). The NHS failure rate, the presence of risk factors for hearing loss, and need for audiological diagnosis were analyzed in both groups. From these variables, absolute frequency and prevalence rates were calculated and the results compared between groups. Results  There was no statistically significant difference in the comparison of NHS failure rates between the groups (p = 0.267). The occurrence of risk factors for hearing loss was greater in babies exposed to drugs (p < 0.0001). There was only one diagnosis of hearing loss, which occurred in the control group (p = 0.667). Conclusion  The use of psychoactive drugs by mothers during pregnancy did not affect the NHS failure rate of this sample. However, the occurrence of significant risk factors in the study group showed a possible sensitivity of babies exposed to psychoactive drugs during pregnancy.