The minimum weight of a newborn baby. Weight gain in breastfed newborns

The height and weight of a newborn baby are the first parameters that the doctor reports. It is their parents who immediately find out when they ask about their child. During the first year of life, the parameters of the baby are constantly recorded, since they carry important information about its development.

The weight and height of a person depend on various factors. However, there are average standards that doctors adhere to. What should be the weight of the newborn? How much does a baby gain over the course of a year?

Physiological weight loss in the newborn

Most mothers find out 3-5 days after birth that the newborn has lost weight. This fact confuses many parents. However, slight weight loss is normal for babies. In a healthy baby, in the first day of life, weight can decrease by 5 - 10%. The reasons for this phenomenon are as follows:

Some children lose excess weight. Deviations can be caused by the following factors:

• lack of nutrition;
• congenital diseases;
• birth trauma;
• childbirth ahead of time;
• birth weight over 4000 g.

Large babies and premature babies need more energy to keep their body functioning. They lose more weight than other babies. After a week or a week and a half, in children born at term, the weight takes on the initial indicators and begins to increase.

What should be the parameters of the child at birth?

Various factors influence the parameters of a newborn: genetics, pregnancy, birth date, gender. However, there are norms developed by experts on the basis of numerous studies. The table shows the indicators of the normal parameters of girls and boys according to WHO.

The indicators are averaged. The growth of a newborn child may be above average if he has tall parents. Bogatyrs are often born if the weight of the father or mother was also above the norm at birth.

Causes of underweight in infants

Underweight occurs due to the following reasons:

A newborn baby with a small mass quickly gains weight in the first months after birth. However, if after a few months it remains below the norm, it is necessary to look for the causes of underweight among the following:

• severe disease or congenital pathologies of internal organs;
• lack of nutrition;
• wrong feeding regimen.

The influence of nutrition on mass gain

Nutrition is fundamental to a healthy baby's weight gain. It is important not only how much he eats, but also the feeding regimen and the quality of food. For children under 6 months of age, breast milk or formula milk is the main source of nutrition. If the baby is bottle-fed, he recovers faster than his peers who receive only breast milk.

The feeding regimen also affects the weight of the baby. Currently, doctors are of the opinion that children need to be fed not on schedule, but on demand. However, the free principle of feeding should not be extended to an endless stay at the mother's breast.

The nutrition of a nursing mother should also be balanced. Improper nutrition can lead to the fact that the baby will grow and develop poorly. Weight gain is also affected by complementary foods, which are introduced from 6 months. The introduction of certain products into the infant's diet ahead of time can lead to weight loss or its excessive growth.

Norms of growth and weight gain for children up to a year

During the first 12 months, the baby grows rapidly. By the end of the first year of life, he weighs about 3 times more than at birth, and adds about 25 cm in height. The most intensive growth occurs in the first months. There are approximate indicators of the rate of increase in height and weight of the child.

Children do not always grow according to average indicators. In one month, they can get ahead of the average parameters, and in the subsequent period, a little behind the norm. On average, the baby will return to normal.

Table of indicators of weight gain and growth for children under one year old:

What to do if the child loses weight

Loss or underweight of the baby are dangerous indicators, since the child can lose weight due to illness. Reasons for weight loss are also:

If the baby began to lose weight, you need to contact the pediatrician. The doctor will examine the child to rule out a pathology dangerous to his health, and explain why he is not gaining weight. If it turns out that the baby is healthy, the following steps should be taken:

• Change the feeding regimen. Many mothers try to stick to the recommended intervals between feedings. However, some babies fall asleep under the breast without having eaten. The baby needs to be fed on demand.
• Change milk formula. Perhaps the reason for malnutrition lies in the fact that the mixture that is given to him constantly is not suitable for the child.
• Review the diet of a nursing mother. With insufficient nutrition, breast milk loses its nutritional properties and does not saturate the baby.
• Change the feeding schedule.
• Protect your baby from stressful situations.

Causes of overweight in infants

Being overweight is no less dangerous for an infant than underweight. However, before you enroll your baby in the fat squad, you need to determine whether his weight is really overweight.

When determining excess body weight, the height of the child must be taken into account. The taller the baby, the more he should weigh. For example, with a height of 75 cm, a weight of 10 kg is normal. And 15 kg is already a sign of overweight. The reasons for high body weight are as follows:

How to measure height at home?

It is not difficult for parents to weigh a baby at home. To do this, it is enough to have electronic scales. However, when measuring height, many dads and moms have difficulty. To measure height at home, you must adhere to the following recommendations:

• you need to measure the baby on a hard surface (for example, on a table);
• after laying the baby, it is necessary to move his head close to the wall;
• one leg of the baby should be straightened and rotated so that the foot is at an angle of 90 degrees to the surface;
• mark the place where the heel of the child is located;
• measure the distance from the wall to the mark.

When a child is born in a family, the first thing that parents rush to tell all relatives and friends is the gender, height and weight of the baby. The same indicators are the first to be entered by doctors in his medical record. What is the importance of these parameters for parents and doctors? And what should be the normal height and weight of the baby at birth?

The very first, most important

The height, weight of the child at birth, as well as the girth of his chest, head are the first and most basic parameters that allow doctors to correctly assess the physical condition of the baby that was born. Too low or too much weight, body proportions are not just numbers. Based on them, experts can assume (and also exclude) many different deviations in the health of a born man. As the child grows up, based on these data, pediatricians monitor his health, give advice to parents on the daily routine, nutrition of the baby, massage, gymnastics, and make the necessary appointments.

That is why immediately after the birth of the baby, they weigh, measure, then fixing these data in the medical record. Further, for the entire first year of a little person’s life, at a pediatrician’s appointment, they will monthly measure, weigh, following the dynamics of changes in the main proportions of his body. After all, in the first year, children grow very actively and gain weight. And the main physical indicators can tell the pediatrician whether everything is going well in a small organism, whether there are any deviations that you should pay attention to, whether something needs to be corrected.

What is considered the norm?

The pediatric norm for full-term newborns is height in the range of 45–56 cm and body weight 3–4 kg. At the same time, the growth and normal weight of the child at birth depend on various reasons.

• Heredity. Tall, large parents most often give birth to large children, and vice versa.
• Gestation period. Full-term babies should weigh in the region of 3–4 kg (gestation period is at least 38 weeks). In premature babies, height and weight depend on the degree of prematurity. For example, for a period of up to 35 weeks, a baby can weigh a little more than 1.5 kg, and for a period of less than 28 weeks - less than 1 kg (such babies are considered extremely premature).
• Gender of the child. According to statistics, the weight of a newborn boy is on average 100-300 g more than girls.
• The order of birth in the family. It is considered the norm that children born second or third in the family are larger than first-born.

In addition, recently there has been a tendency to accelerate the biological development of children. Increasingly, they are born into the world quite large - weighing 5 or even more kg.

For clarity, the weight of newborns (in kilograms) is shown in the table:

Indicators that are in the table between "below average" and "above average" can be considered normal. The rest require more attention from specialists.

After the birth in the first few days, the baby loses some weight. This is a physiological process that you absolutely do not need to be afraid of. Usually a healthy full-term baby loses up to 10% of the weight that was at birth by the 3-4th day. This is due to the lack of milk in the mother in the early days, the discharge of meconium (feces of newborns), urine, as well as the loss of moisture (when the baby breathes, in the form of sweat). But with proper care and sufficient feeding, by the time of discharge from the hospital, the baby weighs the same as when it was born.

Deviations from the norm

Not always large or too small children are born according to the genetic principle. It happens that this is significantly influenced by risk factors that require special attention to the newborn and its further development.

So, children with large body weight are often born to mothers who suffer from diabetes or thyroid disease. In addition, due to various disorders during pregnancy, a baby may be born with signs of postmaturity (such children do not have the original lubrication on the body, their skin is dry, it can peel off).

Small children (less than 3 kg) are often born as a result of the mother’s bad habits, her malnutrition (the mother was afraid to “feed” the baby), acute or chronic diseases (including infectious ones), other pathologies in which the fetus’s nutrition through the placenta is impaired, genetic diseases of the fetus itself. This can lead to its incorrect development. A noticeable discrepancy between the height and weight of the fetus and the gestational age is called intrauterine growth retardation syndrome, or malnutrition.

There are symmetrical and asymmetrical forms of hypotrophy. The first can be detected during ultrasound even at fairly early gestation periods: all fetal parameters will be less than the norm. The second is detected already after 28 weeks, while the size of the body and head of the fetus does not correspond in terms of development to the size of the abdomen.

Do not ignore the referral for an ultrasound examination, undergo planned (and, if necessary, unscheduled) ultrasound scans, follow the recommendations of the doctor in charge of the pregnancy, if medical correction is required.

In terms of severity, malnutrition can be the first (less than 14 days lag), the second (14–28 days lag), and the third (more than 28 days lag) degrees. 1 degree usually does not have a significant impact on the further development of the baby. But 2 and 3 can cause pathologies (depending on which organ is lagging behind). The most dangerous complication that can result from malnutrition is the underdevelopment of the nervous system (the baby may lag behind in mental development).

That is why it is important to monitor the physical parameters of the fetus even before the birth of the child. Often the problem can be solved (or its consequences minimized) in utero. And then neither the weight, nor the height, nor the health of the newborn baby will disturb the parents.

The first thing that a new mother is told after the birth of a baby is the height and weight of the child. The weight of a newborn, on average, is 2500-4500 g, and the height is 45-56 cm. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), the growth and weight standards for newborns differ depending on the sex of the child. The norms of height and weight for boys are 49 - 52 cm and 3200 - 3500, and the norms of height and weight for girls are 48 - 50 cm and 3000 - 3300, thus the indicators of the norm of height and weight in boys are usually more similar figures for girls.
Newborns weighing more than 4500 gr. and taller than 52 - 54 cm are considered large. In the birth of a large baby, at the time set by the obstetrician-gynecologist, they can contribute, even in the womb, proper nutrition (high-quality food), increased medical care. Also, the birth of such a hero is also facilitated by repeated births, post-term pregnancy, overeating during pregnancy, Rhesus conflict between mother and child, diabetes mellitus, and hereditary signs.
If a newborn, on the contrary, has weight and height below the norm established by WHO, then low weight can be explained by a number of reasons, most often associated with improper (unbalanced) nutrition of the mother during pregnancy, bad habits, intrauterine infections, heredity, as well as short breaks between pregnancies.

Rates of growth and weight gain in newborns

In the first week after birth, a newborn loses about 6-8% of his body weight. Weight loss is associated with natural processes: fluid loss, meconium excretion and shrinkage of the umbilical cord remnant. Nutrition in the first days of a baby's life is minimal, especially if the baby is breastfed. Breast milk begins to be produced after a certain amount of time. Colostrum is a mother's "starter" milk, which contains all the nutrients needed for a newborn. A small amount of this colostrum is enough for a baby to remove his hunger, and therefore the weight gain is small. By the end of the first month, the newborn adds 400-800 g.

Table height and weight of a newborn up to a year

These indicators are the norm, but do not forget that each baby gains weight in his own way. Growth increases by 3-4 cm, but even here all indicators are very individual. Do not worry if your baby did not gain a little or went over according to the norm of weight or height, the most important thing is control: control on your part and control on the part of the pediatrician, and if the rear of the baby is protected by qualified doctors and a mother’s loving heart, then prevent any deviations from norms becomes easy and simple. Let your baby grow and gain weight exactly as much as his body needs to be healthy, smart and beautiful!

Height and weight are measured in a child almost immediately after birth, at the fifth minute from birth. These indicators are of paramount importance for assessing the condition of the baby throughout the first year of life. According to the cherished figures, doctors judge whether the baby is healthy and whether it develops normally.

Average weights for children aged 0 to 12 months

Normal weight indicators in infants up to a year have a significant relationship with many factors. For example, this is the chosen way of feeding and further feeding the baby, the lifestyle of the parents, and even the geographical location of the mother with the baby. But, despite all of the above, the medical community has developed a table with parameters as an example of the norm for most children under 12 months old.

Boys weight chart

Girls weight chart

The growth of an infant under the age of one year increases dynamically, with an eye to the constitutional features, genetics, nutrition and general health of the crumbs. A slight deviation from the average parameters is not a cause for concern. If growth rates are far outside the acceptable range, this is an alarming sign that requires a doctor's consultation.

Boys height chart

Girls height chart

On a note! The data given in the table are considered standard in assessing the physical development of infants. Nevertheless, it is worth remembering that babies are born with different weight categories and continue to add body weight unevenly. So, one crumb can “get heavier” by 0.5 kg in a month, and the other by a whole kilogram; but as a result, the increase in both babies can be considered normal, with an eye to their individual development.

How is the child's height and weight calculated?

The calculation formula is used if parents need to track the change in the baby's body weight, comparing each result with growing monthly norms. One of the estimated weight calculations used by pediatricians from the moment of birth until the first birthday is presented in a simple formula - M (kg) \u003d m + 800n, where M is the baby's body weight, m ​​is the body weight at the time of birth and n is the current baby's age in months.

The rate of weight gain up to a year is usually recorded in the clinic with entries in the medical record, but they can also be controlled at home - using special scales. If in short periods the scales show a little less or more data in the table (with a difference of up to 150 g), then there is no need to worry, this is within the normal range.

Important!Sometimes the weight gain in a child differs significantly from the data given in the table. Parents should be alerted by large fluctuations in both directions. If the lag is more than 350 g or more, something is going wrong. Low body weight can seriously affect the development of the baby. If they go along with numerous complaints and disorders in the health of the crumbs, then the child must be examined by a pediatrician and a neurologist.

Table of increase in growth in infants from 1 month to a year

The growth from a child from birth can be influenced by a hereditary factor and, to a greater extent, by the constitutional features of the body of a little man. Growth spurts can be especially noticeable between 3 and 4 months and also between 6 and 8 months. At this time, in just one night, the baby can add a whole centimeter in length.

The calculation of the body length of the baby can be done using the approximate formula used by pediatricians: L (cm) \u003d 100 - 8 (4 - n), where L is the normal body length, n is the current age of the crumbs.

Anthropometric parameters at birth - what is the norm in newborns?

According to the World Health Organization, the body weight of a full-term baby is considered normal if it is in the range of 2.5 - 4.5 kg. Moms and dads should be aware that WHO weight figures are generally indicative.

If the expectant mother has passed 9 months of pregnancy without serious complications, the weight of the child will most likely be 3-3.6 kg. If the baby was born earlier than expected (before the 37th week), then its weight will be an average of 2.5 kg. But you should not worry - a tiny newborn after a while will surely catch up with his peers. This is facilitated by the observance of the sleep and rest regimen, good nutrition and finding the little man in a favorable living environment.

The table below shows the height and weight of boys, as well as the height and weight of girls, as average parameters, indicating the order of maternal birth.

Immediately after birth, most infants lose up to 10% of their original body weight, as nature intended to rid the baby of excess fluid and accumulated meconium (feces). But after 7-12 days, weight loss is replenished:

• in the first weeks of life, the baby gains at least 125 g per week;
• from the second month of life, the set is 600-800 g for 30 days.

Noticing that the weight of the baby is noticeably lower than the prescribed norms, parents should figure it out - is there any reason for concern? Each baby develops at its own pace, so slight variations in height and weight are perfectly acceptable. If, up to the age of three months, the little one gains at least 0.5 kg per month, and from the third to six months, 0.3 kg each, and there are no complaints, then there is no reason for concern.

Important! Normally, during the first year of life, babies triple their initial weight (for example, from 3 kg to 10 kg). Often before 12 months, girls gain weight at a lower rate than boys. An acceptable difference in children of the same age can be up to 600-800 g.

How does a newborn gain weight (by week)

Active weight gain in infants occurs in the first eight weeks of life. This is a normal reaction of the child's body to a change in living conditions, and adaptation to a new diet and regimen.

The digital value of indicators of growth and body weight in infants is very conditional and depends on many factors:

• the choice of feeding the baby (mother's milk or an adapted mixture);
• the amount of food eaten by the child per day;
• the presence of diseases that prevent the proper absorption of food;
• activity and the amount of time that the child spends in sleep and wakefulness;
• often - gender (often girls gain weight more slowly than boys).

Important! Pediatricians calculate the norms for height and weight for infants in conjunction with tables of the average statistical norm, but in some cases they use experimental calculations. Often a slight deviation of the indicators from the WHO tables is considered acceptable. Also, one should not forget about genetic heredity - if growth below average prevails in the family, one should not expect that the heir will add 5 cm per month.

Weight and height of the baby after birth - what to look for

In the maternity hospital, the weight and length of the body of a newborn baby are recorded and carefully monitored by doctors, especially in small and premature babies. They are weighed once a day at the same time, mainly in the morning.

• A daily weight gain is considered normal at the rate of 15 g per 1 kg of body weight. Growth is measured only once a week, and its increase will be assessed in 3-4 weeks. By this time, it should be at least 2.5-3 cm.
• Most infants gain weight rapidly after initial weight gain, especially during periods of "growth spurts". They occur around the middle of the second week of life, and then between 3 and 6 weeks.
• The average child adds an average of 20 grams per day. By the end of the first month of life, the scales in the clinic will show data of approximately 3.8-4 kg. The height and weight of boys is usually slightly higher than that of girls - the difference in weight can reach 0.4 kg and 1-1.5 cm.

The newborn weighs little - is there any reason to worry?

If a nursing baby was born prematurely or weighed very little at birth, then the norms in the increase in height and body weight for him will differ significantly from the norms for babies born on time.

The degree of prematurity of the baby (WHO information):

Birth weight largely determines a child's ability to adapt to life outside the mother's womb. If the baby was born 2.5 kg, this process will take place without deviations from the desired course. If the baby "did not reach" this figure, then adaptation can be much more difficult. What to do?

First, keep warm

In children with low body weight, the layer of subcutaneous fat is very thin, almost absent. In this case, it is difficult for babies to keep warm and the danger of hypothermia is quite real. The temperature of a small crumb should be measured at least once every 5-6 hours. If it is below 36.5 ° C, the baby needs to be warmed. The best way is skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby. Mom puts on an unbuttoned shirt, and the baby is placed on her chest. So the child's temperature and pulse normalize, and the mother's emotional state improves.

Second - we feed the baby by the hour

This is a necessary condition, because in children with underweight often the level of glucose in the blood falls below the prescribed level. This can cause sleep disturbances in the baby, a decrease in overall vitality. The best prevention of this condition is the frequent attachment of the baby to the breast. In the first days, the child should drink about 60 ml of milk per day. Then the amount of fluid drunk per day should increase daily by 20 ml per 1 kg of body weight until it reaches 200 ml per 1 kg of body weight. Those. with a weight of 2 kg, the child will need to be given at least 400 ml of milk per day (of course, the amount is divided into 8-10 doses).

Third - massage for appetite and general development

If the child has gained the cherished 2500 g, and the doctors (pediatrician, neurologist) give the go-ahead for massage, it's time to go through several strengthening procedures. Massage contributes to weight gain, as it whets the appetite even in such babies. It is carried out an hour and a half after eating. It is better to have a professional children's masseur massage the baby, or mother can master it on her own. Having lubricated the hands with cream, you need to carefully knead the baby's muscles according to the scheme from top to bottom - starting from the neck, then the back, buttocks, legs. At the end of the procedure - massage of the arms and chest.

Weight and Height Gain by Month: A Brief Overview of Up to a Year

Criteria for the proper development of a baby can confuse new parents. If it is difficult to figure it out, then you can always ask the local pediatrician for advice. The main thing to remember is that when calculating measurements, you should be guided by the initial data at the birth of the baby and only then calculate the individual monthly amount of weight gain and body length.

In this article:

It is this question that worries first of all both the mother of the newborn, and relatives, friends and acquaintances. Normal weight is considered to be between 2700 and 4000 grams. In this case, the baby should be born at 37-40 weeks. If the newborn was born earlier or later, such parameters are not reliable.

Factors affecting the birth weight of a child:

• Mother's health status. With some chronic diseases of a woman, for example, diabetes mellitus, metabolic disorders, high blood pressure, blood incompatibility for the Rh factor or pathology of the cardiovascular system, the baby may be born overweight or underweight.
• Improper nutrition of a pregnant woman. With an excess of carbohydrates in the mother's diet, babies are born overweight, and with a lack of vitamins and nutrients, children weigh less than necessary.
• The physique of the parents. Babies from miniature parents are born with less weight than tall and full moms and dads.
• The gender of the baby. Boys are almost always born larger than girls.
• The number of previous pregnancies in the mother. Each subsequent baby is born larger than the previous one.
• The number of babies in the uterus. With multiple pregnancies, each twin or triplet baby will weigh slightly less than the standard. Yes, and such babies are born most often ahead of schedule.
• condition of the placenta. With placental insufficiency, the supply of nutrients from the mother to the fetus is disrupted, and the child may begin to lag behind in fetal development.

If the weight of the fetus is more than 4 kg, such a fetus is considered large. Doctors should carefully monitor the course of such a pregnancy and, if necessary, decide on the need for a caesarean section, since it is not always possible for a woman to give birth to a large child on her own. Often, overweight of a newborn child appears due to edema. Adaptation of such babies in most cases is difficult.

The rate of weight gain in babies

Pediatricians use special tables to calculate weight gain in babies. But the assessment of the development of the child should be individual and depends on the weight of the baby at the time of discharge. During the first month of life, an increase of 400 to 800 grams is considered normal, and after six months this figure is 400-500 grams per month.

Newborn weight gain depends on the state of his health, appetite, activity, mother's milk supply, daily routine and feeding.

Causes of deviation from the norm

By six months, the baby should weigh twice as much as at discharge, and a year - three times. If a child is fed on demand, then he can gain 1000-2000 g in the first month, and when following a strict regimen, the increase may be insignificant. Girls usually gain weight worse than boys. Supplementation with water and the use of a pacifier can also lead to weight loss.

What to do in case of deviation from the norm?

If the weight of the child does not correspond to the norms in the table, it is necessary to find out the reason. With a large increase in a breastfed child, a nursing mother should pay closer attention to her diet, excluding sweet and starchy foods. If the increase is insufficient, it may be necessary to supplement with formula or increase its amount if the child is bottle-fed.

How is weight gain calculated?

In the first days of life, the newborn loses weight. The loss can be from 5 to 7-10% of the original figures. This is completely normal and is not a cause for concern. The mother's lactation is still just getting better and the baby receives only a small amount of colostrum. With the advent of milk, the weight begins to grow actively. On average, it should increase by 20-30 g per day. Within the first twelve days of life, the baby should return to its birth weight. If the baby was born prematurely and / or with a small weight, then he is not discharged from the hospital until they see a figure of 2600 g on the scales.

In the future, the increase should be 125-130 g per week, and in breastfed children, an increase of up to 500 g per week can also be considered the norm.

Table of indicators of body weight of boys up to a year

Table of body weight indicators for girls up to a year

Is the baby getting enough milk?

New mothers often worry that the baby may not get enough or poor quality milk. There is no cause for concern if:

• the baby receives a breast on demand, actively and with appetite sucks;
• the number of urination is from 8 to 12 times a day or more;
• gains weight 20-30 g per day;
• the stool in the crumbs is yellow, 3-6 times a day and more often.

Do not try to sound the alarm at the first doubt and immediately start supplementing with the mixture. First you need to make sure that you are properly latching on, feeding on demand, not supplementing with water, not using pacifiers and eating well. If you follow all the rules, but the increase is less than 125 g per week, consult your local doctor. Only the pediatrician should decide on the need to introduce additional artificial nutrition, choose its type and calculate the amount needed by the child.

Video on how to weigh a newborn