A slower than normal heart rate (in adults, slower than 60 beats per minute).

A deficiency or slowing down of growth pre- and postnatally.

Distention of the abdomen.

Infrequent or difficult evacuation of feces.

Impaired feeding performance of an infant as manifested by difficulties such as weak and ineffective sucking, brief bursts of sucking, and falling asleep during sucking. There may be difficulties with chewing or maintaining attention.

A state of disinterest, listlessness, and indifference, resulting in difficulty performing simple tasks or concentrating.

Protrusion of abdominal contents through a defect in the abdominal wall musculature around the umbilicus. Skin and subcutaneous tissue overlie the defect.

Hypotonia is an abnormally low muscle tone (the amount of tension or resistance to movement in a muscle). Even when relaxed, muscles have a continuous and passive partial contraction which provides some resistance to passive stretching. Hypotonia thus manifests as diminished resistance to passive stretching. Hypotonia is not the same as muscle weakness, although the two conditions can co-exist.

A decreased rate of skeletal maturation. Delayed skeletal maturation can be diagnosed on the basis of an estimation of the bone age from radiographs of specific bones in the human body.

An enlargement of the posterior fontanelle relative to age-dependent norms.

Stridor is a high pitched sound resulting from turbulent air flow in the upper airway.

Reduced body temperature due to failed thermoregulation.

An increased amount of bilirubin in the blood.

An abnormal elevation of the concentration of thyroglobulin, a protein produced in the thyroid gland that acts as a precursor to thyrroid hormones.

Increased length and width of the tongue.

Skin characterized by the lack of natural or normal moisture.

Congenital hypothyroidism is a partial or complete loss of function of the thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) that affects infants from birth (congenital). The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped tissue in the lower neck. It makes iodine-containing hormones that play an important role in regulating growth, brain development, and the rate of chemical reactions in the body (metabolism). People with congenital hypothyroidism have lower-than-normal levels of these important hormones.\n\nCongenital hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland fails to develop or function properly. In 80 to 85 percent of cases, the thyroid gland is absent, severely reduced in size (hypoplastic), or abnormally located. These cases are classified as thyroid dysgenesis. In the remainder of cases, a normal-sized or enlarged thyroid gland (goiter) is present, but production of thyroid hormones is decreased or absent. Most of these cases occur when one of several steps in the hormone synthesis process is impaired; these cases are classified as thyroid dyshormonogenesis. Less commonly, reduction or absence of thyroid hormone production is caused by impaired stimulation of the production process (which is normally done by a structure at the base of the brain called the pituitary gland), even though the process itself is unimpaired. These cases are classified as central (or pituitary) hypothyroidism.\n\nSigns and symptoms of congenital hypothyroidism result from the shortage of thyroid hormones. Affected babies may show no features of the condition, although some babies with congenital hypothyroidism are less active and sleep more than normal. They may have difficulty feeding and experience constipation. If untreated, congenital hypothyroidism can lead to intellectual disability and slow growth. In the United States and many other countries, all hospitals test newborns for congenital hypothyroidism. If treatment begins in the first two weeks after birth, infants usually develop normally.\n\nCongenital hypothyroidism can also occur as part of syndromes that affect other organs and tissues in the body. These forms of the condition are described as syndromic. Some common forms of syndromic hypothyroidism include Pendred syndrome, Bamforth-Lazarus syndrome, and brain-lung-thyroid syndrome.

An enlargement of the thyroid gland.

Deficiency of thyroid hormone.

Developmental hypoplasia of the thyroid gland.

Mislocalised thyroid gland.

Increased concentration of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in the blood circulation.

The congenital absence of the thyroid gland.

A reduction below the normal concentration of thyroxine in the blood. Thyroxine (also known as T4) is the main hormone secreted by the thyroid gland into the blood. It can be converted into the active form triiodothyronine (also known as T3).