BABIES born in Ebumnyameni (Donkerhoek) and Ocean View in Jeffreys Bay will soon benefit from specialised equipment designed to pick up hearing loss at the earliest opportunity.
The aim of the newborn screening programme, launched by the Healthy Mom and Baby Clinic’s mobile outreach programme, is to identify within a few hours after birth any baby suffering from moderate to profound hearing loss,
According to Healthy Mom and Baby Clinic Director, Lynette van Onselen, the tests, done with specialised machines, are quick and stress free.
“An estimated 1% to 2% of the population suffer from hearing loss, while amblyopia, which occurs in early childhood when the nerve pathways between the brain and eyes are not properly stimulated, affects between 6% and 7% of children,” says Van Onselen. “But this can be much higher.”
According to her, parents often do not realise the importance of early screening.
“Children’s speech, vocabulary and early learning are determined by their ability to hear. The earlier corrections can be made, with either hearing tools or surgery, the higher the chance is that the child will not lose crucial information.
“Similarly, the vision screening can pick up the major contributors of vision loss later in life.
Van Onselen says that the mobile clinic plays a vital role in the communities it serves. “By screening for visual and hearing deficiencies, later complications like vision loss, deafness and subsequently learning difficulties can be prevented.”
This added service will be done in conjunction with the visual screening tests – hoping to identify any complications as early as possible, and thus prevent more serious problems.
- The aim of the mobile clinic is to take much-needed health services to the community – with special focus placed on the first 1 000 days of a baby’s life. Home visits are also conducted in a bid to revitalise primary health care.
