ABSTRACT
Every baby is given a newborn blood spot screening at 5 days of age to identify if the baby has one of nine conditions. Some of the conditions tested for have implications for breastfeeding; the most common are: phenylketonuria, galactosaemia, and maplesyrup urine disease. Phenylketonuria is an inherited condition affecting one in every 10,000 live births each year. It is due to a deficiency of the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase responsible for the metabolism of phenylalanine into tyrosine. Galactosaemia occurs in about 1 in 45,000 births. It is a deficiency of enzyme galactose-1-phosphate uridyl transferase transmitted as an autosomal-recessive trait. Maple syrup urine disease is a life-threatening condition if not detected and treated early. It is an autosomal-recessive disorder caused by a defect in the metabolism of the three branched-chain amino acids. Hepatitis C is a liver infection caused by the hepatitis C virus, transmitted by blood from an infected person.
