The first year of your baby’s life probably feels like the most amazing magic show you will ever witness.
Look around us, we’re all so different, and so are our babies. Some of them are born round and plump, easily looking couple of months old right away. Others are meek and small like tiny kittens when born and transform into tigers further on the way. So if babies are so different and we can’t compare them, how do we keep an eye on their growth? Let’s find out!
By 4 months of age, your baby is likely to double his/her birth weight.
On the 1st birthday, she/he will probably weigh 3 times as much as at the time of birth.
Since comparing babies can be misleading, the correct way to track your baby’s growth is to use a chart. The WHO has formulated different charts for different regions and these have been the widely accepted standard to measure the growth of infants all over the world. There are separate Growth Charts for baby boys, baby girls, for 2 to 20-year-old boys and girls. Children with special needs also have special charts to track growth.
In a typical Growth Chart, the weight of the baby, the height/length and head circumference are recorded. The collected findings are marked down vertically and connected to form a graph. This type of jotting down helps visually understand your baby’s growth at a glance rather than poring through sheets or lists of data. Measurements are typically recorded when babies are born and in monthly intervals thereafter.
Enough already! Where is the Baby Growth Chart?
The growth charts for the 4 vital parameters are shown below:
FOR GIRLS
| Age (in Months) | Height (in cms) | Weight(in Kgs) | Head Circumference(in cms) | BMI(in kg/m2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | 44.8 – 53.5 | 2.3 – 4.4 | 31.1 – 36.6 | 10.8 – 16.6 |
| 1 | 49.1 – 58.2 | 3 – 5.7 | 33.8 – 39.3 | 11.6 – 18 |
| 2 | 52.3 – 61.8 | 3.8 – 6.9 | 35.4 – 41.1 | 12.6 – 19.5 |
| 3 | 54.9 – 64.7 | 4.4 – 7.8 | 36.6 – 42.4 | 13.2 – 20.3 |
| 4 | 57.1 – 67.1 | 4.8 – 8.6 | 37.6 – 43.5 | 13.5 – 20.6 |
| 5 | 58.9 – 69.2 | 5.2 – 9.2 | 38.5 – 44.5 | 13.7 – 20.8 |
| 6 | 60.5 – 71.0 | 5.5 – 9.7 | 39.2 – 45.2 | 13.7 – 20.9 |
| 7 | 61.9 – 72.7 | 5.8 – 10.2 | 39.8 – 45.9 | 13.8 – 20.9 |
| 8 | 63.2 – 74.3 | 6 – 10.6 | 40.3 – 46.5 | 13.7 – 20.8 |
| 9 | 64.5 – 75.8 | 6.2 – 11 | 40.7 – 46.9 | 13.7 – 20.7 |
| 10 | 65.7 – 77.2 | 6.4 – 11.3 | 41.1 – 47.4 | 13.6 – 20.6 |
| 11 | 66.9 – 78.6 | 6.6 – 11.7 | 41.4 – 47.7 | 13.5 – 20.4 |
| 12 | 68 – 80 | 6.8 – 12 | 41.7 – 48.1 | 13.4 – 20.2 |
| 13 | 69.1 – 81.3 | 6.9 – 12.3 | 42 – 48.3 | 13.3 – 20.1 |
| 14 | 70.1 – 82.6 | 7.1 – 12.6 | 42.2 – 48.6 | 13.3 – 19.9 |
| 15 | 71.1 – 83.9 | 7.3 – 12.9 | 42.5 – 48.8 | 13.2 – 19.8 |
| 16 | 72.1 – 85.1 | 7.4 – 13.2 | 42.7 – 49.1 | 13.1 – 19.7 |
| 17 | 73 – 86.3 | 7.6 – 13.5 | 42.9 – 49.3 | 13 – 19.5 |
| 18 | 74 – 87.5 | 7.8 – 13.8 | 43 – 49.5 | 13 – 19.4 |
| 19 | 74.8 – 88.6 | 7.9 – 14.1 | 43.2 – 49.6 | 12.9 – 19.3 |
| 20 | 75.7 – 89.7 | 8.1 – 14.4 | 43.4 – 49.8 | 12.9 – 19.3 |
| 21 | 76.5 – 90.8 | 8.2 – 14.6 | 43.5 – 50 | 12.8 – 19.2 |
| 22 | 77.3 – 91.9 | 8.4 – 14.9 | 43.7 – 50.1 | 12.8 – 19.1 |
| 23 | 78.1 – 92.9 | 8.5 – 15.2 | 43.8 – 50.3 | 12.8 – 19.1 |
| 24 | 78.9 – 93.9 | 8.7 – 15.5 | 43.9 – 50.4 | 12.8 – 19 |
FOR BOYS
| Age (in Months) | Height (in cms) | Weight(in Kgs) | Head Circumference(in cms) | BMI(in kg/m2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | 45.5 – 54.3 | 2.3 – 4.6 | 31.5 – 37.4 | 10.8 – 16.9 |
| 1 | 50.2 – 59.3 | 3.2 – 6 | 34.6 – 40 | 12 – 18.3 |
| 2 | 53.8 – 63.1 | 4.1 – 7.4 | 36.4 – 41.9 | 13.3 – 19.9 |
| 3 | 56.7 – 66.2 | 4.8 – 8.3 | 37.8 – 43.3 | 13.9 – 20.6 |
| 4 | 59 – 68.7 | 5.4 – 9.1 | 38.9 – 44.4 | 14.1 – 20.9 |
| 5 | 61 – 70.8 | 5.8 – 9.7 | 39.7 – 45.4 | 14.3 – 21 |
| 6 | 62.6 – 72.6 | 6.1 – 10.2 | 40.5 – 46.2 | 14.4 – 21.1 |
| 7 | 64.1 – 74.2 | 6.4 – 10.7 | 41.1 – 46.8 | 14.4 – 21.1 |
| 8 | 65.5 – 75.7 | 6.7 – 11.1 | 41.6 – 47.4 | 14.4 – 21 |
| 9 | 66.8 – 77.2 | 6.9 – 11.4 | 42.1 – 47.9 | 14.3 – 20.8 |
| 10 | 68 – 78.6 | 7.1 – 11.8 | 42.5 – 48.4 | 14.2 – 20.7 |
| 11 | 69.1 – 80 | 7.3 – 12.1 | 42.8 – 48.7 | 14.1 – 20.5 |
| 12 | 70.2 – 81.3 | 7.5 – 12.4 | 43.1 – 49.1 | 14 – 20.4 |
| 13 | 71.3 – 82.6 | 7.6 – 12.7 | 43.3 – 49.3 | 13.9 – 20.2 |
| 14 | 72.3 – 83.8 | 7.8 – 13 | 43.6 – 49.6 | 13.9 – 20.1 |
| 15 | 73.3 – 85 | 8 – 13.3 | 43.8 – 49.8 | 13.8 – 19.9 |
| 16 | 74.2 – 86.2 | 8.1 – 13.6 | 44 – 50.1 | 13.7 – 19.8 |
| 17 | 75.1 – 87.4 | 8.3 – 13.9 | 44.1 – 50.3 | 13.6 – 19.7 |
| 18 | 76 – 88.5 | 8.4 – 14.2 | 44.3 – 50.5 | 13.6 – 19.6 |
| 19 | 76.8 – 89.7 | 8.6 – 14.4 | 44.4 – 50.6 | 13.5 – 19.5 |
| 20 | 77.7 – 90.7 | 8.7 – 14.7 | 44.6 – 50.8 | 13.4 – 19.4 |
| 21 | 78.4 – 91.8 | 8.9 – 15 | 44.7 – 51 | 13.4 – 19.3 |
| 22 | 79.2 – 92.9 | 9 – 15.3 | 44.8 – 51.1 | 13.3 – 19.2 |
| 23 | 80 – 93.9 | 9.2 – 15.6 | 45 – 51.3 | 13.3 – 19.1 |
| 24 | 80.7 – 94.9 | 9.3 – 15.9 | 45.1 – 51.4 | 13.3 – 19.1 |
Check if your baby fits into the range appropriate for his/her age. To understand whether your baby is developing and growing properly over a period of months, you will need the help of your paediatrician or family doctor to plot a growth curve and percentile.
Who is responsible for creating Growth Charts?
The World Health Organization (WHO), in charge of international public safety, has studied babies from different parts of the world to create a comprehensive list of growth parameters for parents to monitor and compare.
What do these charts contain & how do I make use of them?
Growth parameters have been broken down into various developmental aspects for both girls and boys. A growth chart contains the typical height, weight etc. of a boy and a girl at a certain age. The values have an upper and lower limit suggesting that they vary across different countries.
For example, 1-year-old Indian girl might have an average height which might be slightly different to that of similarly aged girls from Australia or Brazil. Hence, the global chart made by WHO contains recommended upper and lower limits for a 1-year-old girl’s height to make sure that she is growing normally rather than suffering from any particular nutritional deficiency or health problem.
These upper & lower limits take into account the growth patterns of infants from across the world to make globally applicable recommendations.
Constantly monitoring and measuring your child according to these limits allows you and your doctor to record the specific path of growth. It shows whether your baby is growing normally like all the other babies across the world as well as alerts you if any problems arise.
What are the growth parameters applicable to a newborn?
The most important parameters to monitor a newborn for are as follows:
- Weight
- Height
- Head Circumference
- Body Mass Index (BMI)
For the purpose of this article, growth parameter values for ages between birth and 2-year-olds only will be discussed.
What is BMI and why is it important for a child’s development?
Body Mass Index is a kind of calculation which utilizes the weight & height of a child to make an educated guess on how much body fat she/he has. This index is very useful for identifying children who are at risk of suffering from obesity.
How do I understand and compare my baby’s values with the growth chart?
The growth chart provides the height, weight etc. of babies across the world in terms of ‘percentile’.
For example, if your 1-year-old girl weighs 8 kgs, then she is in the 20th percentile of weight.
This would mean that your daughter weighs the same or more than 20% of all 1 –year-old girls around the world.
At the same time, your daughter also weighs less than 80% of all 1-year-old girls.
To avoid confusion, keep measuring your child’s growth and then compare it to the appropriate range in the growth chart. Then, consult your paediatrician or family doctor to plot a growth curve. This consultation should preferably be done every 2-3 months.
Should I be worried if my child has a low percentile or if the growth is slowing down?
This is the trickiest part. At what point should a parent be worried?
Despite WHO setting up global standards for child growth, it is difficult to fit growth spurts, late development etc. into them.
Hence, it is always better to make important decisions based on the values of 3-6 months.
If a child is in the lowest 5% percentile in January, there is not much to worry.
If she/he does not grow by March or April, then it is better to consult a doctor to review all aspects of that child’s health & diet.
Another factor at play is genetics.
A child with 2 relatively short parents is also likely to be short and not grow too much.
But if both parents are relatively tall and the baby has a low height percentile, there might be a hormone deficiency or genetic problem.
The genes will also have to be considered before jumping to conclusions.
A high percentile is not necessarily positive either.
If a baby is consistently in the top 5% percentile for weight or BMI, it is necessary to consult a doctor about her/his diet. The child might be on the path to obesity.
