Height Record-Infant

Summary of Recommendation and Evidence

Population	Recommendation	Grade (What's This?)
Screening of both Genders	This screening is recommended a best practice.	B

Birth Height

The average length of full-term babies at birth is 20 in. (51 cm), although the normal range is 46 cm (18 in.) to 56 cm (22 in.). In the first month, babies typically grow 4 cm (1.5 in.) to 5 cm (2 in.).

What is a growth chart and why is it used?

A growth chart is a tool used to assess whether your baby is growing and developing as she should be.

Boys and girls have separate growth charts, because boys are on average slightly heavier and taller than girls, and their growth patterns are different.

Each baby is unique and meets milestones at his or her own pace. But most healthy babies follow a similar growth pattern. This does not mean that they have the same height and weight; but that they grow and put on weight, proportionately to their size and according to their gender, in a similar way.

Boys' growth standards: birth to 12 months

Months	Length (cm) 3rdto 97thpercentile	Weight (kg) 3rdto 97thpercentile	Head circumference (cm) 3rdto 97thpercentile
0	46.3 - 53.4	2.5 - 4.3	32.1 - 36.9
1	51.1 - 58.4	3.4 - 5.7	35.1 - 39.5
2	54.7 - 62.2	4.4 - 7.0	36.9 - 41.3
3	57.6 - 65.3	5.1 - 7.9	38.3 - 42.7
4	60.0 - 67.8	5.6 - 8.6	39.4 - 43.9
5	61.9 - 69.9	6.1 - 9.2	40.3 - 44.8
6	63.6 - 71.6	6.4 - 9.7	41.0 - 45.6
7	65.1 - 73.2	6.7 - 10.2	41.7 - 46.3
8	66.5 - 74.7	7.0 - 10.5	42.2 - 46.9
9	67.7 - 76.2	7.2 - 10.9	42.6 - 47.4
10	69.0 - 77.6	7.5 - 11.2	43.0 - 47.8
11	70.2 - 78.9	7.4 - 11.5	43.4 - 48.2
12	71.3 - 80.2	7.8 - 11.8	43.6 - 48.5

Girls' growth standards: birth to 12 months

Months	Length (cm) 3rdto 97thpercentile	Weight (kg) 3rdto 97thpercentile	Head circumference (cm) 3rdto 97thpercentile
0	45.6 - 52.7	2.4 - 4.2	31.7 - 36.1
1	50.0 - 57.4	3.2 - 5.4	34.3 - 38.8
2	53.2 - 60.9	4.0 - 6.5	36.0 - 40.5
3	55.8 - 63.8	4.6 - 7.4	37.2 - 41.9
4	58.0 - 66.2	5.1 - 8.1	38.2 - 43.0
5	59.9 - 68.2	5.5 - 8.7	39.0 - 43.9
6	61.5 - 70.0	5.8 - 9.2	39.7 - 44.6
7	62.9 - 71.6	6.1 - 9.6	40.4 - 45.3
8	64.3 - 73.2	6.3 - 10.0	40.9 - 45.9
9	65.6 - 74.7	6.6 - 10.4	41.3 - 46.3
10	66.8 - 76.1	6.8 - 10.7	41.7 - 46.8
11	68.0 - 77.5	7.0 - 11.0	42.0 - 47.1
12	69.2 - 78.9	7.1 - 11.3	42.3 - 47.5

What does a growth chart measure?

A growth chart is designed to track how your baby grows in three parameters:

Length
Weight
Head circumference

Your pediatrician will measure your baby on these parameters and enter the details in your baby's growth chart. Over time, the measurements will show if your baby is growing according to the standard growth rate. If he/she is, it is a good sign that your baby is feeding and digesting well.

Girls Percentile Chart

Boys Percentile Chart

What does my baby's percentile mean?

This can be explained best with the help of an example. If your baby is in the 25th percentile for weight for example, it means that 24 percent of babies the same age and gender weigh less than your baby and 75 percent weigh more.

The percentile for weight and height are not always the same. So for example, if your baby is in the 25th percentile for weight, she could be in the 50th percentile for height. This would mean that 49 percent of babies the same age and gender are shorter than your baby and 50 percent are taller.

Your pediatrician will look to see that your baby's growth follows her percentile curve and that she continues growing steadily along it.

What if my baby's growth curve doesn't follow the chart?

Temporary ups and downs from your baby's percentile curve are quite normal and usually not a cause for concern. Ups might happen with a growth spurt and temporary downs might happen after a bout of illness for example.

But if your doctor notices that over time your baby is not keeping up with her curve, he might investigate to see if something is preventing your baby from growing well.

It is worth remembering that although growth charts are a useful screening tool to see if further investigations might be needed, they cannot be used to diagnose a problem. And sometimes the results on a growth chart may suggest there is a problem where none exists, or miss a problem that does exist.

What can I do to get my baby on a higher percentile curve?

The aim in using a growth chart and tracking your baby's measurements is not to find ways of getting her into a high percentile. It is rather to ensure that whatever percentile your baby starts off in, she grows along the curve of that percentile.

Your doctor might want your baby to get on a higher percentile for weight if her height percentile is much bigger than her weight percentile.

If your baby was born prematurely, your doctor might give you a slightly different growth chart to track your baby's growth with. If you are using the same chart as other parents, your doctor will advise you to track your baby's growth according to her adjusted age, not her chronological age.

Premature babies are given two ages by their pediatricians -- their chronological age (calculated from their birthday) and their adjusted age (calculated from their due date or when they were meant to be born). Tracking your baby according to her adjusted age will give a more accurate percentile because it will measure your baby according to other babies that were conceived at the same time as her.