3. GROWTH CHART
DEFINITION:
The growth chart is a visual display of
child’s physical growth and development.
Growth charts are used to compare child’s height,
weight
and head size against children of same age.
4. Growth charts were developed from information
gained by measuring and weighing thousands of
children.
From these numbers the national average
weight and height for each age and gender were
established.
5. What Growth Charts Measure ??
Weight (measured in ounces and pounds or grams
and kilograms)
Height (measured while lying down in children
under age 3 and while standing up in children over
age 3)
Head circumference (a measurement of head size
taken by wrapping a measuring tape around the
head above the eyebrows)
6. How Growth Chart Works ??
On X-axis child’s age in months and on Y-axis
weight in kg is mentioned.
There is a reference curve in growth charts for
comparison (upper for boys and lower for girls)
Periodic weighing is plotted on chart & a curve is
obtained which indicates child’s health.
7.
8. Percentile in Growth Chart:
One important word to understand about
growth chart is ‘’PERCENTILE’’
‘’The word is used to show what
percentage of babies of the same age and
gender lie at a given level on the
chart.’’
9. If the child’s weight is at the 50th percentile line, it
means, out of 100 normal children his age 50 will be
bigger than he is and 50 smaller.
Similarly, if he is in 75th percentile, it means, he is
bigger than 75 children and smaller than only 25,
compared with 100 children of
his age.
10. If a child’s weight, height, or head size is
below the 5th percentile its important to see if
his growth points have always paralleled the
5th percentile line which would mean his
growth rate is normal.
11. What Growth Charts tell us ?
The growth percentile by themselves don’t say much.
What really matters is the rate of growth:
A normal rate of growth means the child’s growth points
closely follow a percentile line in the chart.
we usually don’t worry about insufficient (or excessive)
growth until a child’s growth rate has crossed at least two
percentile lines (e.g., from above the 90th percentile to
below the 50th)
12.
13. USES OF GROWTH CHART:
Growth monitoring: main use is growth monitoring
of child.
Diagnostic tool: for mortality, morbidity and health
status.
Planning & policy making: by grading malnutrition.
Educational tool: mother can be educated
regarding care of her child.
14. Tool for action: it helps the health workers to
determine type of intervention needed.
Tool for teaching: Growth chart also gives info. Like
birth date & weight
immunization of child
immunization of mother
child health record
15. Role of growth chart in 3rd world
countries:
Resources
Aid
Educational
