Umbilical cord blood TSH: a predictor of congenital hypothyroidism.

Newborn screening is the most modern public health preventive screening program involving the population at large and is mandatory in the USA, Europe, Japan and many South Asian countries. It is unfortunate that in India, newborn screening has not been given the attention it deserves. Neonatal hypothyroid screening using cord blood is an easy, practical & effective method. In most screening programs blood samples are collected at five to six days age, but with large number of babies being discharged early (usually the next day after a normal delivery and on the 3 day after a caesarean section), cord blood sample is essentially indicated.