About Infant Growth Charts
Infant growth charts are used to compare the growth rate of infants with others of the same age. There is a wide range of normal development, and children may fall anywhere within, or even above or below, the chart based upon their personal circumstances. However, charts do provide a good way to map the child's relative growth.
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Definition
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Infant growth charts are visual representations of the distribution of height, weight and head circumference for infants at birth to children 36 months old. The chart indicates what percentile an infant's size places him or her in. For example, an infant who falls in the 30th percentile for height is as tall or taller than 30 percent of children his age. In addition to the infant growth charts, there are special charts for babies and children with certain conditions, such as Down Syndrome, and charts for those aged 2 to 20 years.
Function
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Growth charts help doctors see trends in infant growth. There is a wide range of "normal" in infant size, and charts should be seen only as a guide to the trend of the individual infant's growth. For a baby who has consistently been in the 50th percentile in size, a sudden drop to the 15th percentile may warrant further investigation. Doctors also watch to see that height, weight and head circumference are growing at comparable rates. Should one of these indicators of growth fall far behind the others, a pediatrician will want to know why.
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Controversy
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The growth charts used in the United States until the year 2000 were developed in the late 1970s using census data from a population of primarily white, bottle-fed babies. Because bottle-fed babies tend to gain weight at a slower rate after the age of 3 months, parents or doctors can be unduly concerned about this growth slowdown. According to the La Leche League, babies fed with infant formula weigh more, but are not healthier according to other standards. The growth chart measurements were reformulated by the World Health Organization in 2000, but no chart is able to account for all the possible variations such as differences in size among ethnic groups.
Considerations
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Individual differences in growth can be affected by many factors. Infants who are born larger tend to gain weight at a slower rate than their smaller counterparts. In contrast, moderately premature infants gain weight more quickly than average to "catch up." For preemies, pediatricians consider the baby's growth in relation to both their "real age" (birthdate) and their "adjusted age" (their age based on when they were due to be born). So, a 7-month-old infant who was born 2 months early could be assessed using both the 7- and 5-month-old charts, with most falling somewhere in between.
Expert Insight
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Doctors would like parents to know that they shouldn't worry unduly about a child's place on the growth chart. F. Lane France, a pediatrician and spokesperson for the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) notes that, "One mark on a growth curve means nothing. You're more interested in the trend. You'd like to see them at a certain percentile and then stay along the curve." One doctor remarked that growth charts are not a test in which you are aiming for your child to get a 100. They are just one tool of many that doctors use to help them assess the overall health and development of your child.
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