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Infant growth: What's normal?
By Mayo Clinic staffOriginal Article: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/infant-growth/AN01654
- With Mayo Clinic emeritus consultant
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
Jay Hoecker, M.D.
Dr. Jay Hoecker, an emeritus member of the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, brings valuable expertise to health information content on primary care pediatrics. He has a particular interest in infectious diseases of children.
He's a Fort Worth, Texas, native, certified as a pediatrician by the American Board of Pediatrics and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was trained at Washington University's St. Louis Children's Hospital, and in infectious diseases at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He has been with Mayo Clinic since 1989.
"The World Wide Web is revolutionizing the availability and distribution of information, including health information about children and families," Dr. Hoecker says. "The evolution of the Web has included greater safety, privacy and accuracy over time, making the quality and access to children's health information immediate, practical and useful. I am happy to be a part of this service to patients from a trusted name in medicine, to use and foster all the good the Web has to offer children and their families."
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Question
Infant growth: What's normal?
How much should I expect my baby to grow in the first year?
Answer
from Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
Healthy infants come in a range of sizes. Still, infant growth tends to follow a fairly predictable path. Consider these general guidelines for infant growth in the first year:
- From birth to age 6 months, a baby may grow 1/2 to 1 inch (about 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters) a month and gain 5 to 7 ounces (about 140 to 200 grams) a week. Expect your baby to double his or her birth weight by about age 5 months.
- From ages 6 to 12 months, a baby may grow 3/8 inch (about 1 centimeter) a month and gain 3 to 5 ounces (about 85 to 140 grams) a week. Expect your baby to triple his or her birth weight by about age 1 year.
Your baby's doctor will monitor your baby's growth at routine well-baby exams, likely charting your baby's growth on a standard growth chart. Keep in mind that many healthy babies go through brief periods when they stop gaining weight or even lose a little weight. A doctor would likely be concerned only if an otherwise healthy baby doesn't gain weight from one well-baby exam to the next. Your baby's position on the curve in a growth chart isn't as important as the trend of the curve overall.
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- Growth charts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts. Accessed May 26, 2011.
- Ball JW, et al. Pediatric Nursing: Caring for Children. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall; 2008:83.
- Thies KH, et al. Growth and Development Through the Lifespan. 2nd ed. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers; 2009:120.
- Birth to 36 months: Boys length-for-age and weight-for-age percentiles. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set1clinical/cj41l017.pdf. Accessed May 27, 2011.
- Birth to 36 months: Girls length-for-age and weight-for-age percentiles. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set1clinical/cj41l018.pdf. Accessed May 27, 2011.
- Hoecker JL (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 27, 2011.
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