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Community Birth Providers - My Role
Community birth providers contribute to the holistic care of expectant mothers and newborns and can have a positive impact on the long-term outcomes for children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. Michigan has a mandated hearing screening and reporting system. Therefore, each community birth provider should have a procedure in place to assist families in obtaining a hearing screen for their newborn.
Community birth providers play a crucial role in the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) process by:
- Educating expectant parents about the benefits of newborn hearing screening and the potential impact of hearing loss on a child's development
- Facilitating and/or performing hearing screening no later than 1 month of age
- Reporting results to the Michigan EHDI program
- Connecting families with pediatric audiologists when additional testing is needed. Diagnostic testing should occur no later than 3 months of age.
- Promoting Early Intervention (EI) services for infants with hearing loss. This should begin no later than 6 months of age.