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Congenital hypothyroidism


Disclaimer: This fact sheet is for educational use only. Please consult your doctor or other health professional to make sure this information is right for your child.

Key points to remember

  • congenital hypothyroidism is a condition where a baby is born with a thyroid gland that does not work properly
  • the thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped organ at the base of the neck - its job is to make thyroxine hormone that helps the cells of the body function correctly
  • a small, under-developed (not fully grown) thyroid gland or one that is missing altogether are the commonest causes of congenital hypothyroidism
  • the reasons why the thyroid gland does not develop properly in the fetus are not known
  • one case of congenital hypothyroidism occurs in about every 2,300 babies born in New Zealand so there are about 30 babies born with this condition each year

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Where to go for information about congenital hypothyroidism

Congenital hypothyroidism fact sheetNSU (National Screening Unit)
The NSU website provides a leaflet about congenital hypothyroidism (Congenital hypothyroidism and your baby)1 (at right) for parents who have just learned that their baby has the condition. 
 
The website also provides detailed information about the Newborn Metabolic Screening Programme (see their resources2 for parents).  
 
NZORD (New Zealand Organisation for Rare Disorders)
NZORD provides New Zealand's central starting point for information about rare disorders.
 
International website
 
Screening, Technology And Research in Genetics (STAR-G), Hawaii
The Star-G or Newborn Screening Info website provides fact sheets on the metabolic disorders screened in the New Zealand Newborn Metabolic Screening Programme. It includes descriptions of each disorder and how they can be detected and treated. The website provides a fact sheet for parents:
 

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Acknowledgements

Starship Foundation and the Paediatric Society of New Zealand acknowledge the co-operation of the National Screening Unit in making this information available for families.
 

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Links   (these are the web addresses for the numbered links in the text above)


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Endorsement

This fact sheet was endorsed by PSNZ - 21/09/2009

Copyright

Fact sheets are subject to copyright. In the interests of information sharing they may be copied but acknowledgement must be given to PSNZ and Starship Foundation.
© The Paediatric Society of New Zealand and Starship Foundation 2005 - 2010


The Paediatric Society of New Zealand
http://www.paediatrics.org.nz 		Starship Foundation
http://www.starship.org.nz