Physical development for babies
Your baby's physical development is a very important part of their health. As you take them to the doctor for their check-ups and well child visits you will find that your doctor will weight, and measure your child. Usually they will then tell you what percentile they fall into with regards to other children in their age range. Based on these percentiles your doctor will determine if your child is growing as they should be, are average, above average, or not developing fast enough.
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The measurements that are taken will be plotted on what is called a growth chart, and they are used nationally to track and compare your child's growth. The following is a closer look at physical development, and growth charts for babies:
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What to do if your baby is not growing like they should:
Talk to your pediatrician: If you are at all worried about your child's growth, or if they are not growing like they should be your pediatrician is the first person you should go to for help. Hopefully they have been seeing your child on a regular basis since birth, but even if they have not, they will be able to help you find the best solutions for your baby's lack of physical development. Hormones: If your baby is not growing tall enough, or if they are abnormally short, it could be due to some hormonal imbalances. If this is the case, your doctor can put your baby on growth hormones for a time. Usually they will not do this unless there is a strong indication that they should. This means they will want to monitor your child over the course of a year or so to see if they are just slow to develop, or if their growth is actually stunted. They will also typically evaluate if there is any other reason their growth might be stunted. For example, if your three year old drinks coffee, it might be stunting their growth. Diets: If your child is not physically growing the way they should, it could be due to their diet. Your pediatrician will review with you their typical diet, and make suggestions to help you get them on a diet that will improve their growth. If your child is severely underweight, or if weight is the biggest issue due to lack of calories, or extremely high metabolism, your doctor may have you give your child Pediasure, or other high calorie foods to promote growth. Physical therapy options: In some cases babies do not develop physically because they are not actually using their muscles. This is something that is more common in babies who have undergone great stress, such as preemie babies, or babies whose parents are under great stress. For example, if you are going through a messy divorce, your baby might feel the effects of it, and the stress might slow down their physical development. To help get them back up to speed, physical therapy, or studied use of muscle groups can really help. Your pediatrician can recommend a good therapist and teach you some exercises to get started. |
What are growth charts?
Growth charts are tools that the doctor uses to evaluate and keep track of your baby's physical growth. At each checkup during their first year, the doctor or nurse will measure your baby's length, weight, and head circumference. After two years of age, generally they no longer measure head circumference.
Once the numbers are taken they will plot them on a chart of national averages for babies of the same age and sex. In the end, she'll tell you what percentile your child is in. The percentile is important as it indicates how many children of the same age and sex are the same or less than your child. For example, if at your baby's 2 month check up they weigh 10 lbs, putting them in the thirty third percentile, that means that in the US, thirty three percent of 2-month olds of the same gender weigh 10 pounds or less.
If your baby is premature, then they are plotted based on their gestational age, rather than their actual age, as it will give more accurate ratings. This means if your baby came 6 weeks early, their numbers will be plotted with babies that are six weeks younger than your baby. So, you do not have to worry about the physical development advice they give you being off because your baby is premature, doctors take those circumstances into account. Some will even use "preemie" growth charts.??So, does the percentile really matter? In some ways it matters a lot, in others it does not matter at all. You should not be overly concerned about where your child falls in the percentile as each child is an individual and will develop at their own pace, and in many cases your child is perfectly healthy, and growing fine, but is a little behind the curve. It is good to know that these percentiles are a general guide to help your doctor know if your baby's development physically is on track. As long as your baby progresses, then there is usually no need to worry. Also, unless your baby is significantly under the average, or significantly over the average, they typically will not do anything about your baby's physical development as long as it is progressing.
So, what is the point of the growth chart?
For one it gives you an idea of how your kid compares to others.
For another, it allows your doctor to plot their growth over time, (assuming you go to all the regular visits, and stick with the same doctor, or have your records transferred over), and assess if they are gaining appropriately each time (no big dips, for example). In addition, it allows your doctor to assess whether or not they are tall for their weight, or fat for their height, etc. This will help the doctor to see if your child is at risk for obesity or weight problems.
Current growth charts are very sophisticated these days. There are growth charts for preemies, ones for breastfed babies, and ones for formula fed babies as they all grow at different rates.
In addition to having different growth charts for different types of babies, there are also different growth charts for different age levels. For example, the first set of growth charts covers from birth to 36 months. To see the various growth charts you can visit the Center for Disease Prevention website, or ask your doctor for copies.
Does it matter if you are really accurate in the measurements, or are approximations okay? When it comes to assessing your baby's physical development, an inch or a pound can make a pretty significant difference in where your baby falls on the charts. This is why you take your baby into the doctor, and not check their physical growth yourself. The measurements should be taken very carefully. It can be tricky to get reliable and accurate numbers if your baby is moving, and your doctor and their nurses have a lot of practice, so it is good to leave the measuring to them.
Let's take a closer look at the measurements that your doctor is going to take, and how they will go about taking them:
Weight
When your doctor takes your baby's weight they do it with them only in a clean diaper. The difference of an ounce is a lot, so they will ask you to undress your baby down to their diaper, and ensure that the diaper is clean. They will then put your baby on the scale, and weight them. The scale will be set to zero before they are weighed, and is recorded in kilograms and recorded to the tenth of a kilo. Of course, because most people in the US do not use kilograms for measurement, they will likely tell you the weight in pounds and ounces as well.
At your baby's first appointment they will want your baby to be back to at least 90% of their birth weight. If they are, then their physical development is on track
Length
While your baby is lying down, the doctor or nurse will measure him from the top of his head to the bottom of his heel. Usually they will lay them on some sort of paper cover, and use a pen to mark where the top of their head is, then they will stretch the leg out and mark again, then let you pick up your baby, and they will measure the paper. That way they do not have to try and get the child to hold still for more than a second. Some practitioners use a special device with a headboard and a movable footboard for accurate results, and it works in much the same way.
Your baby may not grow in length much at their first appointment, but by the second at 2 months, they should have gotten longer.
Head circumference
- To measure your baby's head, a flexible measuring tape is used by the doctor or nurse. It is placed around the head, and tightened around the area where his head has the largest circumference. This is usually right above your baby's eyebrows and ears, around the back of his head where it slopes up prominently from his neck.
If you are wondering why head circumference matters it is because your baby's brain growth is reflected in the size of their skull. Part of physical development is the growth of the brain. If your baby's brain is not growing like it should, their head circumference may not increase like it ought to. In addition to that, if your baby's head circumference grows too quickly, it may be a sign of a problem like hydrocephalus (the buildup of fluid in the brain). While these conditions are rare, measuring the head helps rule it out.
- As mentioned previously, an inch and an ounce makes a big difference, so you should not try and track their growth at home, but if you want to track their growth just for fun, not in place of the doctor doing it you can weigh your baby. The best way to do this at home is to weigh yourself with the baby, then weigh just yourself, and subtract to find your baby's weight.
To measure your baby, use butcher paper, and employ the same method mentioned previously of marking the head top, stretching the baby's leg out gently, and marking, then removing the baby and measuring. Or, you can get some help, and just measure, again it might not be as accurate as you would like.??To measure the head circumference, get a flexible measuring tape, and wrap it around the head at the widest part.
Then, if you want to see how your baby compares to other babies, find a growth percentile calculator online and plug in the numbers.
If you pay attention to your baby you will likely know whether or not their physical development is on track, and whether or not you should be worried.
