Growth

One of the "big" worries when you have a premature baby is whether they will ever catch up size-wise. Premature babies usually start life weighing considerably less than their full term peers, and it may take a long time before they are even close to the size of others born around the same time as them. 

This chart has been put together to show everyone how the growth of babies can vary enormously. It is meant to provide reassurance, not cause worry, and should be looked at out of general interest. Some children will always be small, others will quickly stack on weight and grow in length. If your child is happy and healthy and progressing well, there probably isn't too much too worry about. If your child is unsettled and miserable, or not reaching developmental milestones, you should have them assessed by your GP, Paediatrician or other health professional. Generally, children should be following a growth curve similar to that in their "Child Health Record" book. Some prems are "below the chart", meaning they are smaller than most other children their age, but may still be growing appropriately. However, if your child is not gaining weight, and/or is dropping further behind other children their age, please have them checked out.

This chart uses "actual age", which is the age of the child from their date of birth.

If you would like your child's information entered on the chart, please email the details, making sure to include the child's name (not for publication, just to make it easier for me to match updates to the correct data as your child grows), gestation and weights and lengths. Please give weights in grams or kilograms if at all possible, and give the information for the child's ACTUAL age (from birth, not from their due date). If you don't have information for a particular week or month, just leave it out.

 All ages are actual.

Chart best viewed with screen resolution of 1280 X 1024 or at least 1024 X 768