Anthropometric indicators or the norm of the weight and height of the child are the most important criteria for assessing his natural development during the first year of life. Of course, this data is purely individual. Some children grow measuredly, they perfectly gradually gain weight and height. Others are spasmodic. Such babies can then lag behind in weight by one month, but completely compensate for the lack in another. They can grow slowly, after which they will gain 7-9 centimeters immediately in a month. There is no concept of “a single rate of growth and weight of the child”. Each organism develops in accordance with its internal rhythm - a biological clock.
Basic rules for weight gain:
1. If the mother does not have enough milk, or its nutritional value is low, the baby will not be full, which can negatively affect the health of the child, this will be seen in the indicators. He will grow poorly and will not be able to gain weight. In this case, the immune system can weaken, and the child will be susceptible to diseases and serious malformations. To avoid such threats to the baby’s life, his mother will be assigned a diet that increases the fat content of milk. If this does not help, the child will have to give complementary foods.
2. If the baby is completely on artificial feeding, he gains weight faster. This does not mean that the mixture is better than breast milk, it’s just that they are digested longer and have not such a rich composition as mother’s milk. The norm of weight and height of the baby, who is breast-fed, is slightly higher than that of ordinary babies. Children under one year of age should be examined by a doctor every month. This allows you to monitor the development and note anthropometric indicators.
3. The
norm of growth and weight for premature babies is more flexible than for normal babies. Breasts that were born in the seventh-eighth month are under the constant supervision of doctors. They are prescribed only three to four weeks after birth.
Factors affecting performance
Among all the factors that can affect the weight and height of the baby, the most common should be highlighted. Most often, these are conditions that standards cannot take into account:
1. The environment. If there is summer heat on the street, it is unlikely that the baby will want to eat a lot. Most likely, he will try to drink more fluid. This can lead to lag in weight. Do not worry about this, because if the baby is active and alert, then he is healthy. A healthy baby should not cause anxiety in parents, even if he does not want to eat. You just need to try to feed him at night, when the heat subsided.
2. Gene predisposition. Very often, children are larger or smaller than the prescribed norm of growth and weight. This may be due to the fact that their parents differ from the average indicators. If the parents are small and have a quick metabolism, then it is likely that the baby will also slowly gain grams and centimeters. Conversely, large parents often have children who are significantly higher than their height and weight. But this is not a pattern. Sometimes, regardless of parents and genetic predispositions, a child may have standard indicators.
3. The gender of the baby. Oddly enough, but depending on gender, children have different indicators. The standard rate of weight and
height of a female child at different months is slightly different from that for boys. Girls have lower average rates than small males.
4. Diseases. Children are very sensitive to all changes in their body. The slightest cold can significantly reduce the absorption of food and, as a result, will lead to a slowdown in development. Of course, this is not necessary, but there are often cases when even because of the cutting teeth in children the appetite is very bad, the temperature rises, and the baby is not gaining enough weight in a month. Therefore, the norm of weight and height of a child always has not one value, but the limiting parameters.