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Strollerderby
Is Your Pediatrician Using the Right Growth Chart?
Breastfed Babies Grow Differently
Yesterday I posted news from the latest CDC breastfeeding study, saying that fewer than half of moms in the U.S. breastfeed for the recommended amount of time. In it, I brought up the question of weight charts, because I think one of the reasons moms supplement with formula is that when a baby’s weight seems to drop, both doctor and mom get worried. But the height and weight charts used by many pediatricians are based on a population of primarily formula fed infants.
What a coincidence! One of our readers tipped me off to the fact that just last Friday, the CDC made an official recommendation that all pediatricians shift to using the World Health Organization’s growth charts for babies 0-24 months. See the user-friendly height and weight chart below.
Breastfed babies grow differently, says the CDC. In the first three months, they gain more compared to their formula-fed counterparts, but they naturally weigh less than formula-fed babies between months 3-18. A breastfed baby who looks to be dropping in weight and raising a red flag for a doctor (using an outdated chart as many do) could look just fine on the WHO chart.
What makes the WHO chart a better standard?
The WHO gathered data on an international sample of babies growing under conditions considered “optimal for growth,” including being breastfed for at least 12 months, whereas the older chart from the CDC measured a non-ethnically diverse population of primarily formula fed babies.
Switching to these new charts will boost all babies up in the percentiles–for some it will provide relief that their baby isn’t too lean, but it will also push more babies and toddlers into the overweight category too.
Here is the WHO growth chart for boys 0-24 months
Here is the WHO growth chart for girls 0-25 months
Read about the CDC’s recommendations for doctors using height and weight charts here.
Image: Flickr/Nerrisa’s ring
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In Vitro Fertilization Affects Baby Gender | Strollerderby commented on Sep 30 10 at 12:34 pmBecca commented on Sep 14 10 at 5:38 pmI get frustrated with these charts it seems like very third mom has a kid who is small and they are concerned and than they are force feeding them or bribing them to eat, long after failure to thrive seems like a viable worry, i.e. 5 or 6 years old. Plus very few of these kids ever seem to not be gaining they are just small it seems irresponsible with obesity epidemic to be trying to up kids size. Thats it for my little rant
brex commented on Sep 14 10 at 8:40 pmI haven’t been concerned about my daughter’s weight which basically plateaued after she hit 9 months (but she was pretty rolypoly before then). My GP on the other hand flipped out and said I had to start force feeding her. We finally got to see a pediatrician who said everything was fine. He also said that he is hoping to see a shift from the traditional growth charts that measure babies against each other to one that simply tracks how quickly or slowly they are growing. Makes more sense to me.
kat commented on Oct 12 10 at 9:21 pmAs a mom with petite kids it totally sucks to be pressured about it. As if I could force my children to eat more; maybe instead of feeding them a whole foods vegetarian diet I should feed them twinkies and hohos all day so they can be fat and unhealthy!
Brandi commented on Oct 20 10 at 1:35 amIf breastfed babies grow at a different rate than formula fed babies, wouldn’t it make the most sense to keep BOTH charts in use & use the most appropriate chart for the child?
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