In the first months after birth, only one thing is expected of the crumbs - that it develops normally in accordance with generally accepted norms. If during reconciliation with tables developed by doctors after large-scale questions and studies, the height and weight of the child under the age of one year coincide, then the parents are calm - there are no pathologies. But should deviations be an occasion for experience?
Why control the increase in height and weight in children under 1 year old?
The slightest deviations from generally accepted standards in especially restless mothers cause a violent reaction. To their consolation, they can argue that there can be no ideal norm in gaining weight and height, deviations are possible in both directions. Moreover, doctors can interpret the data based on the individual development of the baby.
On the recommendation of WHO, the weight and height of a child up to a year must be monitored, and in case of too strong a difference in evidence, seek help from a medical institution. There are separate parameters for girls to minimize errors, as well as for boys.
The developed standards help parents, but give only a general description of development, when the growth and weight parameters of the average small citizen, who must have a certain development by a given number of months or years, are taken as the norm. Tables do not help determine the health of the baby, any problems and deviations in the body, but only record how the child should grow month after month.
Where did the norms of height and weight come from?
If you listen to the findings of UNICEF and WHO, you can find out that they have decided that breastfeeding is the best form of feeding. This is especially important up to six months from the date of birth. So the baby will be able to develop normally. But then natural food is not enough, constant feeding is required, and every month the child should get acquainted with a large number of products.
These rules came into force in 2002, and after 4 years, WHO officially proclaimed norms stating the height and weight of a child up to a year and older, but a separation was made for boys and girls, since their parameters differ. Now for parents in any part of the world, it’s enough to open the table and check the data after weighing and measuring their child’s height to find out if there are any health or nutrition problems.
Breastfeeding - the foundation of normal development
The need to create new standards arose due to the fact that it was decided, in contrast to the previous ones, to take the biological aspect as the basis - namely breastfeeding. A child who was not overweight was taken as a test subject, and a prerequisite was that he should be naturally fed. Any additional feeding is completely excluded. So it became possible to check the height and weight of the child over the years to make sure that development is proceeding normally.
For statistical data, children under ten years of age who were in favorable conditions with breastfeeding or who at an older age only had a healthy diet were involved. They were also not susceptible to infectious diseases due to good health. Parents of children did not have bad habits, and mother during pregnancy led only a healthy lifestyle and was not sick.
That is why the new data, which are placed in the tables, differ from the previous ones, which included the measurements of babies who are breast-fed. Now the new data, which indicate in detail the height and weight of the child by years, contain slightly different numbers.
Weight categories of babies
A newly born baby must have weight:
- About 2,500 g. This is the lowest limit, which indicates that birth occurred at the required time and there is no danger to life. If a child was born with less weight or earlier than the time prescribed by nature, then there were compelling reasons for such deviations. For example, the pregnancy was with pathologies or multiple, unforeseen external circumstances occurred.
- From 2,500 to 3,000 g. Such weight limits do not slightly reach ideal weight parameters. Most often this may be due to the weakened immune system of the mother, her severe toxicosis or lack of nutrients and vitamins in the female body. Also, differences in the Rhesus factors of parents and problems with the placenta can play a role.
- For boys, 3,500 g and 3,000 g for girls are considered the best. Here, fluctuations in both directions of 400-450 g are also permissible.
- More than 4,000 g. This happens if the child was born later than the deadline or he is not the first to be born in the family. Typically, subsequent children are 40-60 grams more likely to weigh.
Gradual growing up
The height and weight of the child up to one year is added unevenly. By the end of the first month of life, the baby weighs on average 600 grams more than at the time of discharge from the hospital, and three centimeters longer.
By 6 months, the baby is required to gain 800 g. every 30 days. Growth on average increases evenly over the months:
- I - 2-3 cm;
- II - 3 cm;
- III - 2.5 cm;
- IV - 2.5 cm;
- V - 2 cm;
- VI - 2 cm.
Also, for a guideline, a growth rate of 4 months is taken. By this time, the baby should weigh twice as much as when born.
After 6 months, the doctors have more stringent requirements for the child, since the emphasis is not only on weight and height, but also on many other parameters and the norm of behavior.
The height and weight of a child up to a year will not be added so actively, but still after 6 months of age, each month, body weight should increase by 400 g on average, and by 10-11 months the baby will weigh three times as much. In growth, he will also add more slowly - 1.5-2 cm. His first birthday, per year, the baby weighs about 10 kg, but deviations in both directions are permissible up to 1 kg.
More detailed data on the standards are presented in the tables taken from the official website of the World Health Organization.
The growth rate chart for girls is below.
Here you can see the norms of weight for girls.
This table shows the growth rate for the boy.
And here you can see the norms of weight for boys.
Measurement error
It happens that the height and weight of a child up to one year does not coincide with those indicated in the table, but the baby develops normally and visually correctly gains weight by all criteria. The reason for this is often a simple explanation - parents do not weigh or measure a child correctly. The decisive factors may be:
- Diapers Last time they were denser, weighed much more, and a month later it was warm, and the diapers were replaced with light ones.
- The child crawls on the stadiometer or he tightens the legs. But at the same time, even a small error can significantly change the data.
In order to correctly measure, you need to put the baby, but only on a flat hard surface, straighten the legs, then the result will coincide with the true parameters. It is better if there will be no clothes, since even a diaper can slightly lift a part of the body, and therefore the data will be distorted.
The WHO tables show the weight and height of a child by months to a year in columns with quantitative boundaries. The average is between 25 and 75 percent.
Baby scales
In order to always know how a child is gaining weight, you should purchase special scales, but those in which a weighing cup will not potentially cause inconvenience. Before laying the baby, it is necessary to lay a diaper on the scales, but its weight must then be crossed out. Lay the baby should be so that the weight is distributed evenly. You can determine the mass only after the arrow ceases to oscillate.
It is advisable to record the height and weight of children under one year old in a journal. This is one of the most reliable ways to always know how a child develops. You should not worry if the data in the table where the average statistics are displayed do not quite coincide with the ones just obtained, but if the baby’s own weight and height figures differ significantly, there is a reason to visit a doctor for advice.
Reasons for Lack of Standards
The height and weight of children from 0 to a year may lag behind generally accepted norms for a number of reasons. Of these, we can distinguish several of the most common:
- The kid got sick. If this happens, the appetite disappears too rapidly, and the refusal of the next portion of milk is accompanied by symptoms typical of the disease. It can be fever, rashes on the skin, loose stools.
- Low energy consumption. Rare walks, as a result of which access to fresh air is limited, as well as a little activity lead to a decrease in appetite, then the height and weight of children up to a year may fall behind the norm.
- Feeding by mode. This method is more acceptable for mom. But the child, if he wanted to eat, does not understand that he has to wait several hours, in the end he starts to act up. Scientists have proven that a long break in feeding affects the quality of milk.
- Mom has the wrong posture while feeding. The child is uncomfortable to grab the nipple.
- Limited suction time. Many mothers, fearing that the baby is overeating, stop the feeding process themselves. But still, you should wait until the baby decides to stop sucking, besides it can not be deprived of a very nutritious rear milk.
- Too emotional a baby can refuse to eat for a long time, if the situation around him has suddenly changed significantly, new people have appeared that cause anxiety.
Conclusion
The need to gradually gain weight and height for a child up to a year - a boy and a girl - is due to the biological structure of the body. Along the way, children should acquire all the skills that will be necessary in life. That is, to develop not only physically, but also mentally. This harmony will provide the child with everything necessary for many years to come.