If CH is not treted, What problem occure?
Most babies do not have symptoms right away because they are protected by their mother’s thyroid hormone for a few weeks after birth. After about three to four weeks of age babies must rely solely on their own thyroid hormone. If they don’t make enough, symptoms will show up at that time. A small number of babies with CH do show effects at birth, however. Some babies have a yellow color to their skin or the whites of their eyes. This is called jaundice.
Other signs that may occur in early infancy include:
| Low activity level - babies sleep more than usual and don’t move as much | Poor feeding and poor suck |
| Fewer bowel movements or constipation | Floppy muscle tone (hypotonia) |
| Swelling around the eyes and a puffy face | Large swollen tongue |
| Cool, pale, dry skin | Large soft spot on the skull (the fontanel) that closes late |
| Large belly with protruding navel (‘umbilical hernia’) |
If left untreated, babies may develop some or all of the following effects over time:
| Breathing problems | Coarse, swollen facial features |
| Hoarse-sounding cry | Delayed milestones (sitting, crawling, walking, talking) |
| Wide, short hands | Poor weight gain and growth |
| Goiter (enlarged thyroid gland causing a lump in the neck) | Anemia |
| Slow heart rate | Fluid build-up under the skin (called myxedema) |
| Hearing loss |
Children who remain untreated usually become mentally retarded and are much shorter than average. They may have spasticity and an unsteady gait. Most have speech delays and some have behavior problems