How To Read Growth Charts For Infants: A Must-Read

WHO Growth Charts

These are growth charts approved by the World Health Organization and are advised to be used for infants and children up to two years of age.

This was released in 2006 and is still being followed until today. According to the WHO standards, breastfeeding is the recommended infant feeding standard and it provides a better illustration of physiological growth in infants.

Also, it is based on a high-quality study that is designed for creating growth charts to keep parents informed about their child’s growth and development

CDC Growth Charts

After age two, you may then use the CDC growth charts until the child turns nineteen because they provide more information about the developmental progress of a child from two to nineteen years of age and has been trusted internationally.

Pay Attention to the First Three Years

The first three years of your child is the most crucial time for you to keep an eye on that growth chart. This is because you have to make sure that the brain is growing and this is what needs to get checked.

You have to look at the head’s circumference and the weight and the height of the baby to make sure that they are growing accordingly and well.

Reading Percentiles

Learning how to read growth charts for infants also means learning how to read through percentiles that they produce or are charted there.

Reading percentiles is one of the most crucial things you have to learn when learning how to read growth charts for infants because reading percentiles on growth charts are not like reading grades in school.

Everything affects your child’s growth, from nutrition, health, genetics, environment, and activities and that is what you can read on the growth charts. It is also what you have to learn.

Following the Grid

The first thing you have to know when learning how to read growth charts for infants is following the grid.

Now, when following the grid, you have to keep a close eye on how your child is changing. You have to know the rate of growth and compare it to the rates on the grid.

Do Not Focus on the Numbers

Do not focus on the numbers. You have to focus on the rates or the trends of growth that the nurse or the pediatrician tells you.

The value of the percentiles given to you will vary depending on the trend of growth that your baby has according to her pediatrician and that is what you must be keen to understanding.

Understanding the Hallmark of the Well-Child Check

After you have learned how to read growth charts for infants, you must know refer to the hallmark of the well-child check which is a review of a child’s growth.

Since growth is the mirror of your baby’s overall health, environment, and nutrition, you must understand whatever it is that your doctor or your nurse says or about your baby’s growth.

This is also why it is imperative for you to ask for charts whether on paper or on the computer of your child’s progress or how the baby has been doing over the last year or the last six months.