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Mum thought baby smelled of pancakes but it was actually a deadly warning sign

Newborn baby Leo 'smelled sickeningly sweet' and had a distinct odour of pancakes which turned out be because he had the rare genetic disorder Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD)

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A mum thought baby smelled of pancakes due to spilled breakfast - but it was a deadly warning sign

A mum thought her baby smelled of pancakes due to spilled breakfast - only to learn it was a warning sign he was days from death.

Parents Megan Popps and Devaughn Debelak were delighted after welcoming their son, Leo Debelak, into the world on February 2026. The 30-year-old and her newborn were discharged home after Leo's routine heel prick test, only to be told days later that there was an anomaly on his results.

The mum-of-one, who works in accounts, had noticed that her baby 'smelled sickeningly sweet' and had a distinct odour of pancakes and maple syrup.

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Baby smelled like syrup and pancakes - an alert for deadly disorder(Image: Getty)

Megan said one of her breakfasts on the maternity ward was pancakes so believed some of the sweet treat had fallen onto Leo's blanket.

However, the mum grew concerned after discovering that Leo's amino acid results had returned as 'inconclusive', leading her to stumble upon the rare genetic disorder Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD) online.

MSUD is a rare but treatable inherited metabolic disorder that prevents the normal breakdown of protein. It gets its name from the distinct, sweet smell of maple syrup in the urine, sweat, and earwax of affected infants.

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Lucky Leo will have to have a life-long protein-restricted diet for the rest of his life

Babies with untreated MSUD can go on to have seizures and long-term health problems, including brain damage, and even slip into a coma, which can be life-threatening.

After reading about the condition online, Megan decided to take little Leo back to hospital when the entire house began smelling of syrupy pancakes.

There, doctors discovered Leo's amino acid levels were at a critical level and he was diagnosed with MSUD, and spent three weeks in hospital.

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Mum Megan believes the distinct pancake smell was a warning sign that ultimately helped save her five-month-old son's life.

Now, Leo will have to have a life-long protein-restricted diet for the rest of his life, avoiding meat and dairy completely to prevent further health episodes.

Megan believes the distinct pancake smell was a warning sign that ultimately helped save her five-month-old son's life.

Megan, from near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, said: "While we were still in the hospital, Leo had the heel prick test done and we were discharged home before the results came back.

"We were told we needed to have the test redone as something had come back inconclusive. We went the next day to have it redone. I called up and found out it was Leo's amino acid profile that had come back inconclusive.

"I looked that up and got the results for MSUD. We had mentioned to each other a few times that Leo smelled very sweet. It's a very sugary, pancake smell, it's sickeningly sweet like maple syrup.

"But we hadn't noticed anything that made us think something like this was going on. We had noticed the smell in the hospital but one of the breakfasts in the maternity ward was pancakes so I thought some of it had just gotten onto the blanket.

"We could only smell it sometimes - it wasn't overpowering until the very last day when we took him to the ER when you could smell it through the entire house. It was so distinct.

"When I looked up the disorder and saw how rare it was, it was hard for us to grasp our brains around the fact that was what was possibly happening.

"Before going to the ER, we had packed some of his clothes and a soiled onesie to show the doctor that it smelled like pancakes. There was no urine smell at all."

After taking Leo back to hospital for testing, doctors found Leo's amino acid levels were at a critical level - and the tot was put on haemodialysis to help clear his blood of toxins.

Little Leo was discharged home after three weeks in the NICU, but will forever remain on a strict diet if he doesn't have a liver transplant in the future.

Megan said: "MSUD can be controlled with diet. Leo will have to be on a specialised diet for the rest of his life. He will be on a very strict vegan diet, he will have to avoid meat and dairy completely. He will have to count his protein intake for the rest of his life.

"He is at risk for life of having another metabolic crisis. If he ingested too much protein, periods of fasting, sickness or extreme stress can also lead to a metabolic crisis.

"MSUD within a few weeks can be fatal if left untreated. Leo would've slipped into a coma within days or even lost his life. I think that pancake, maple syrup smell absolutely helped save his life.

"I think if we didn't have something concrete like the smell, we'd have been able to talk ourselves out of everything that was going on. I would have been able to convince myself it was new mum anxiety [without the smell].

"We've since thrown out the syrup, French toast and waffles of the house because we never wanted to smell it again. We've not had a sweet breakfast since. One of the most important things for people to know is to trust their instincts."

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