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What is the growth curve?
The growth curve is an important part of our child’s health record. It’s the main tool that allows the pediatrician or general practitioner to ensure that baby is growing and putting on weight normally. The growth curve includes the curve of height, weight, head circumference as well as the body mass index (BMI: weight / height squared). It is recommended that an infant be weighed and measured every 8 or 10 days until he is 6 months old. Then, the measurements can be done every month until his first birthday. From one year, our child must be measured and weighed once or twice a year.
On observe three growth cycles. The first, until the age of three or four: the curves progress quickly and significantly. Then comes the stagnant phase, until the child is 10 years old. We could almost “draw a straight line” to follow its curve, according to P. Blanc, head of the general pediatrics unit at the Poissy Saint-Germain-en-laye intercommunal hospital. From the age of eleven or twelve, puberty begins and the curve begins to rise again to adult height. As for the BMI, from 0 to 1 year, its curve increases significantly. From 1 to 5 years, it decreases. Finally, at 6 years old, she goes back up. We call that the rebound. It is decisive in predicting future childhood obesity. All of these measures should be taken until the end of puberty.
Namely : Until puberty, there is no difference between the growth of girls and that of boys. There is also no difference between a breast-fed and a bottle-fed baby. If you have any doubts about the baby’s weight gain, it is important to consult the doctor or pediatrician of our child.
What are the criteria for good growth?
Since April 1, 2018, the health book incorporates new growth curves: updated height, build and cranial perimeter curves. When the pediatrician / doctor examines the baby, he enters the parameters on the curve of the health record. You can observe different “corridors” on the growth chart. These corridors are decisive for analyzing the growth of the child. If Baby stays “in his hallway”, it is because he is growing harmoniously.
Warning signs of a growing problem
The most obvious warning sign: the child comes out of “his hallway”, either at the top, he gains too much weight or grows too fast, or at the bottom, he is too small and loses weight. The doctor must then determine where the problem is coming from. For example, a child who grows too fast can go through precocious puberty. Another indicator is the BMI curve, care must be taken that the child does not hypotrophy, that is to say that he does not lose weight abnormally. The BMI also makes it possible to act early on obesity. An abnormal rebound may be a sign of future overweight.
In all cases, the doctor will question the parents on the child’s diet, his lifestyle, he will also look for possible painful events in the child’s life, in order to determine where the problem comes from. It could be digestive disease, allergy, elimination problem (frequent diarrhea), diabetes, heart disease, inflammatory, hormonal problem or psychic suffering. The examinations set up differ depending on the signs found by the doctor.
Predict the size and morphology of the child
Will he be very tall like his father, rather stocky like his grandfather? Mathematical formulas are circulating to predict the future height of your child. Be aware that these calculations are not scientifically proven. Indeed, they do not take into account the age of the child as well as his bone age. To find out, you have to take an x-ray of the hand. The maturation of the skeleton involves the transformation of cartilage into bone.
Namely
Bone age tells you if your child is finished growing or if he still has a few years ahead of him. This test is only done if your child shows signs of abnormal growth.
Factors that influence final size and morphology :
- Factors geneticObviously, when the parents are short, in general, you should not expect to have a very tall child.
- Diet: if Baby eats too much or not enough, this will quickly show on his growth chart. And deficiencies can have a long-term impact.
- Factors medical: Heart disease, for example, slows growth. The energy that the heart puts to work is not used to store fat, the child may have a low weight.
- Factors hormone: Growth can be stopped by precocious puberty or, on the contrary, continue for longer due to late puberty.
- Factors environmental(noise, pollution, condition of housing): doctors observed that they could have an impact on growth. But nothing is yet proven.
- Hygiene of life: a sedentary lifestyle can lead to future obesity. Physical condition and a varied and balanced diet obviously have opposite effects.