Manitoba Health
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Protecting Your Baby
Testing for Diseases
As a public health service, Cadham Provincial Laboratory (CPL) screens all newborn babies in Manitoba for certain disorders that are treatable within the first month of life.
Before your baby leaves the hospital, a small sample of blood will be taken from the baby's heel and sent by hospital staff to CPL for testing and storage.
What are the tests for?
From time to time, a baby is born with a disorder that interferes with normal growth and may be linked to mental retardation and/or abnormal medical conditions. The best known disorders are phenylketonuria (PKU) and congenital hypothyroidism. For more information on these disorders, consult your family doctor or specialist.
What are the chances my baby will have a disorder?
Fortunately, very few babies are found to have these disorders. Most of these conditions can usually be corrected by treatment, or a special diet, started soon after birth - before the baby becomes ill. There are, however, some disorders that cannot be diagnosed by our tests at this time.
What happens after the test results are known?
If the test results on your baby are normal, the lab will not send a report to you or your doctor. If the results are not normal, or if the lab needs a second blood sample, your doctor's office will contact you to obtain another sample.
What if my baby is born at home, or leaves hospital early?
If your baby is discharged from hospital within 24 hours, we'll need a second blood sample from your child on the third to fifth day after birth. If your baby is born at home, we will need the first sample from your child also on the third to fifth day after birth. A public health nurse will contact you to arrange for another sample to be taken. The nurse will tell you where to have this sample collected, or may arrange to visit your home to obtain the sample.
More questions?
If you have any more questions about these tests, talk to your doctor. For general information about the program, please contact Cadham Provincial Laboratory at (204) 945-6123.
This testing program is monitored by the Manitoba Perinatal Screening Committee, which includes experts in these disorders. We hope this information helps you understand this program designed to help protect your baby.
For a PDF version of the above information, click here. 
| Cadham Provincial Laboratory |
750 William Avenue |
