Newborn Screening in Community Birth Settings

Midwifery Perspectives on Newborn Screening in Community Birth Settings 

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How to Become a Texas Newborn Screening Submitter 

1. Complete a Submitter Identification (ID) Number Request Form.
2. Schedule a newborn screening virtual training.
3. After receiving ID, place order for supplies.
4. Begin blood spot specimen collections and submitting to the state lab for testing.
5. Obtain results for newborn screening blood spot specimen collections.

Community Birth Reminders

Timely newborn screening can be the difference between life and death for some newborns. The optimal time for collection of the first newborn blood spot screen is between 24 and 48 hours of age. Feeding status does not affect collection timeframe.

The second newborn blood spot screen collection time is at 7-14 days of age, minimum of 168 hours. The second screen routinely detects babies at risk for severe medical complications. These babies sometimes have a normal first screen.

Fill out the demographic information of the blood spot screening form completely and accurately. Incomplete forms will cause a delay in results.
Texas law mandates newborn screening to help protect babies from health problems. All disorders have interventions or treatment options.

A parent can only refuse to have their child screened if the screening conflicts with the parent’s religious tenets or practices. Community birth providers must record the refusal in the client’s chart. You can use your own document, or you may use the Newborn Screen Blood Test Refusal Form: English / Spanish

Review all three newborn screening services with the family: blood spot, hearing, and critical congenital heart disease screening.

A hearing screen is the best way to check a baby’s hearing. Undetected hearing loss can have a long-term impact on learning and language. Parents cannot be sure their baby is able to hear all sounds without screening. A baby with hearing loss may jump or startle to loud noises but miss other sounds or speech. 

Providing Newborn Screening Education to Parents in the Community Birth Setting 

Parents have provided the following reasons for declining newborn screening:

• Lack of Information about Newborn Screening
• Perceived Government Intrusion
• Uncertainty About Storage and Use of Data

Clients rely on the midwife to encourage and educate them on the importance of newborn screening. Supporting newborn screening is part of protecting the newborn. Free brochures are available for order on the Newborn Screening Educational Materials website