Every baby in England to be screened for Spinal Muscular Atrophy at birth

Babies across England will be tested for a rare but serious genetic condition from birth, giving them the best chance of successful treatment before symptoms appear.

The government announced that newborn screening will be expanded to include Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) throughout the country as part of an evaluation programme. It will begin later this year and hundreds of thousands of babies will be screened thanks to the expansion of the scheme.

SMA can leave babies unable to sit up, crawl or walk. In the most severe cases, it stops them breathing or swallowing but, caught early enough, treatment can significantly improve outcomes for affected children.

Testing works through a simple heel prick to collect a small sample of blood from the baby, taken shortly after birth.

The SMA screening evaluation will begin across England in the autumn. Genomic Laboratories, including the South East, are set to start testing babies for SMA from October 2026 – 3 months ahead of schedule – after the government committed to speeding up the rollout.