Percentages Of Child Growth At Each Age

It is important that parents are aware of the child growth percentiles for each age group. From the beginning of pregnancy and throughout childhood, doctors use standard tables to measure children’s height and weight to make sure they are growing properly.

Why child growth percentiles are so important

The percentages of child growth consist of tables that indicate the average weight and average length of a fetus or a baby, according to its age.

The World Health Organization WHO has defined standards to show how children should grow and develop.

Babies who live in a healthy environment and who receive a balanced diet naturally have greater opportunities to reach the set goals for each age group.

But why are child growth percentiles so important? In fact, doctors start using them even before the baby is born.

The reason for this is that the tables help the doctors to keep track of whether the child is developing properly. These standard parameters also allow doctors to monitor the development of the fetus inside the uterus.

Child growth percentiles are important for healthcare professionals to be able to detect any problems.

Excessive weight gain or weight loss can be a sign of illness. If a child suddenly stops growing, this can also indicate a problem.

One thing that parents should keep in mind is that one should not worry about small changes that are within the acceptable values ​​of the tables.

However, if the child’s percentiles show drastic changes, it is important to find out why.

What are the percentages of child growth for each age group?

During pregnancy

During pregnancy, doctors measure the length and weight of the fetus. This information is of great importance when the baby is in the womb.

Of course, it is not possible to measure weight directly during this stage, but there are other measurement methods that can be used instead, such as biparietal diameter (BPD) and abdominal circumference.

At the 38th week, the baby should be between 45.5 and 53.5 cm. The ideal weight is between 2.5 and 4 kg.

Aspects such as the duration of pregnancy and the mother’s health and diet are important for the baby’s development.

Mothers who smoke, use harmful substances or who do not get enough calories expose the child to risks that can affect the development of the fetus.

The child growth percentiles allow healthcare professionals to detect any problems.

Percentages of child growth during childhood

The doctors will discuss with the parents whether their children are within the normal percentiles.

As a rule of thumb, values ​​between 3 and 97 are considered normal. According to these parameters, an overweight or overweight child will be within the 97th percentile or higher.

A child who weighs too little, on the other hand, will be within the 3rd percentile or lower.

The child’s growth should normally be continuous and stable.

A child who is within the 50th percentile is considered to have an average value. But is there any easier way to understand what a percentile is?

If your child is within the 80th percentile for length, this means that if there are 100 babies, your child will be taller than 79 of them. The baby will be shorter than the 20 babies in the higher percentiles.

When should you worry?

It is important that parents are aware that they generally do not have to worry about small variations.

Child growth percentiles are an established global standard, but one should also consider each child’s individual situation.

Factors such as the parents’ height, the surrounding environment and the diet can affect the child’s development.

With that said, however, one should be concerned about excessive weight changes between the various controls.

If these changes are not normalized, the doctor will probably recommend a series of examinations to find out what it is that affects the child’s growth.

Another aspect that healthcare professionals look at is sudden changes in how fast the child grows.

Even in this case, it will be necessary to find out what the underlying cause is.

Expectant parents should learn about the concept of child growth percentiles. They will then better understand whether the child is well and be able to see if there are aspects that can cause health problems.