Objectives: To describe the impact upon maternal anxiety of newborn hearing screening and examine the Possible moderating role of knowledge.

Methods: Questionnaires assessing maternal state anxiety, worry and certainty about the baby's hearing, and knowledge about screening, were sent to four groups of mothers three weeks after screening: Group 1 consisted of mothers whose babies had clear responses on a first or second screening test (n=103); Group 2 consisted of mothers whose babies had clear responses on the third screening test (n=81); Group 3 consisted of mothers whose babies did not have clear responses in one ear at the third screening test and were referred for audiological assessment (n=105); and Group 4 consisted of mothers whose babies did not have clear responses in either ear at the third hearing test and were referred for audiological assessment (n=55).

Results: Although mean anxiety levels were in the normal range, there was a significant trend for anxiety to rise as testing increased (F(1,327)=4.280, P<0.05). Worry increased significantly (F(1,337)=70.432, P<0.001) and certainty decreased significantly (F(1,339)=27.474, P=0.001) as the number of tests increased. Although total knowledge did not significantly moderate anxiety (R ²=0.016, P=0.096), there was a significant interaction between mothers' group and one knowledge item, understanding that receipt of no clear responses was unlikely to mean that the baby had a hearing loss: mothers in Group 4 who understood this had lower anxiety (F(3,323)=4.791, P<0.01) and lower worry (F(3,332)=3.565, P<0.01) compared with mothers who did not.

Conclusions: Understanding the meaning of being recalled following screening may avoid some of the anxiety associated with this.