Probably, many mothers wondered how much my child should gain by weight and height. All children are different. Someone adds more, someone less. Let's see what the child's development depends on and what the height and weight table looks like.
Factors affecting height and weight gain in the first year of life
- was originally a full-term or premature infant;
- constitutional, hereditary characteristics of parents;
- gender of the child;
- type of feeding (breastfeeding, artificial);
- the presence of concomitant diseases.
There are weight and height tables (centile tables), which show the average indicators of the norm for weight and height. You can find them on the Internet. But, as a rule, they are intended more for doctors in order to objectively assess the development of the child. It will be quite difficult to understand them yourself, and it will be inappropriate.
The weight with which the baby was born does not always affect its development during the year, if we are talking about a healthy baby born between 38 and 40 weeks of gestation. Birth weight depends on how the expectant mother ate during pregnancy, what lifestyle she led (active or sedentary).
Not always the weight of a child of 4000 grams, for example, at birth, indicates that he will gain more than a baby weighing from 2 700-2 900 grams. It all depends on the factors described below.
On average, the weight of a full-term baby is within the following limits: for boys at birth, 3,500 grams, for girls, 3,350 grams. Deviations from the norm are allowed from 2,700 grams to 4,000 grams. The body length ranges from 46 to 56 cm, on average - 50 cm.
Let's analyze the norms of weight gain by months in newborns.
The rate of weight gain in newborns by month
In the first 6 months of a newborn's life, the average weight gain per month is 800 grams. In the second half of the year, the norm for weight gain in infants is 400 grams.
In total, the weight of the child increases by week, respectively, by 200 grams before six months and by 100 grams per week after 6 months.
Child's growth by months
The growth of a healthy child during the first 12 months of life increases in total by 25 cm. More accurate indicators are given in the tables of height and weight.
Norms of monthly increase in body length:
- 1 quarter - 3 cm per month;
- 2nd quarter - 2.5 cm per month;
- 3rd quarter - 2 cm per month;
- 4th quarter - 1-1.5 cm per month.
More accurate indicators of the growth rate and weight of children under one year are given in centile tables of height and weight.
Features of the increase in height and weight of premature babies
If the baby is premature, then the increase in weight and body length depends on the gestational age (meaning the week in which the baby was born). As a rule, the schedule for gaining weight and body length in such children is individual for each specific case. And the indicators of weight and height differ in relation to term babies.
Let's analyze the weight of the child by months in case of prematurity:
- during the first 6 months, the average monthly body weight gain for children born with a body weight of up to 1,000 grams is about 600 g, with a weight of 1,000 - 1,500 - about 740 g, and with a weight of 1,500-2,500 grams - about 870 g ;
- in the second half of the year, children born with a body weight of up to 1000 g add about 800 grams of weight every month, and for larger babies, the increase per month is 600 g.
The growth of premature babies in the first year of life increases by 26.6 - 36 cm. Usually by 2 - 3 years they catch up with their peers.
How do the constitutional characteristics of the body and the hereditary factor affect the height and weight of a child under one year old?
Most parents like to compare their child to others. For example: “Here, a friend (neighbor, relative) has a child of the same age as mine and weighs much more than mine. Why are we adding badly? So something is wrong. "
And it seems that there is something to think about, but you should not panic. We are all different in genetic makeup, someone is thin and tall, someone is stocky and short. So, these are the types of constitutions described:
- normosthenic;
- asthenic;
- hypersthenic.
The development of the child also depends on such a factor as heredity. If mom and dad are short, and there is no one tall in the nearest pedigree, then you shouldn't expect your child to add 5 cm every month. This principle partly applies to the weight of the child. We cannot change what is inherent in nature.
The gender of the child and the rate of weight gain in infants by months
Boys in most cases initially carry more weight at birth than girls. Accordingly, the increase in both weight and height will differ. These differences are also laid down in special centile tables.
Influence of the type of feeding on the weight gain of the newborn
At this point, I would like to note such a nuance as overfeeding a child. It used to be believed that overfeeding can only be done on artificial nutrition. However, there are cases and quite common when the mother overfeeds the baby with breast milk.
In both cases, there is an intensive increase not so much in body length as in body weight. That is, if a child in growth adds monthly in the region of average and 1,500 - 2,000 grams in mass, then it is worth considering whether we feed the baby too much and often.
After all, uncontrolled feeding leads to such consequences as delayed motor development and skills. The child later turns over, sits down, gets up, it is hard for him, excess weight interferes. The development of the musculoskeletal system is impaired, the development of obesity and many unpleasant consequences is possible.
Comorbidities and physical development
Babies with certain illnesses gain less in both height and weight. Or, on the contrary, there is a situation when the presence of a certain disease causes a large increase in comparison with healthy children. There are many diseases, let's try to figure it out by highlighting the most common groups of diseases:
- Diseases of the cardiovascular system. Congenital heart defects, especially complex ones, with impaired blood circulation, heart failure. The reason for the lack of weight in this case is the following point. Due to the presence of a defect, the heart does not function fully, blood circulation is insufficient, the exchange of oxygen and nutrients between the organ tissue is reduced, muscles and blood vessels also suffer. This is reflected in the delay in the development of the child's body.
- Diseases of the broncho-pulmonary system. BPD (bronchopulmonary dysplasia), malformations of the trachea, bronchi, lungs, severe intrauterine pneumonia. All these diseases affect circulatory disorders. There is a decrease in the supply of oxygen to tissues and organs, which entails a poor increase in the mass and growth of the child.
- Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Malformations of the intestines, esophagus, liver, bile ducts (pyloric stenosis, intestinal atresia). Such problems are solved promptly in the early stages after birth. Gastroesophageal reflux (abnormal reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus), viral hepatitis, inflammatory bowel diseases, in which the absorption of nutrients through the intestinal wall is impaired; postponed acute intestinal infections.
- Endocrine system diseases. Congenital hypothyroidism causes an excessive increase in body weight due to the accumulation of excess fluid in the body of the newborn and the formation of edema of the subcutaneous fat. To exclude such a disease allows neonatal screening, which is carried out for all newborns up to 1 month.
Usually, blood is taken from a newborn in a maternity hospital from the heel. Such genetic syndromes as Praderra-Willi, Shereshevsky-Turner, Itsenko-Cushinga can influence a large weight gain. These diagnoses can only be made by your attending physician or a narrow specialist (geneticist, endocrinologist).
And in the end, I would like to give advice to parents. In order not to ask questions whether my child is developing normally, you just need to visit your pediatrician every month, who will examine the child and control the increase in mass and growth. Then he will tell you how the baby is developing. If necessary, he will prescribe on time examination and treatment, if required.
