Are infant growth charts misleading?
Pre-term infants who are born either smaller or larger than expected for their gestational age face an increased risk of poor growth and development. Smaller babies are in greater danger of experiencing neurodevelopmental delays, says Irene Olsen, an adjunct assistant professor in Penn Nursing, while larger newborns have higher rates of hypoglycemia, obesity and obesity-related diseases. Because growing is one of the most important things pre-term babies (born earlier than 37 weeks) must do in their initial months of life, charting their progress is vital, Olsen says. Unfortunately, many of the growth charts commonly used in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) are limited in a number of ways, often utilizing outdated, incomplete or faulty information. Olsen says she first noticed the problem while working as a dietician. One of her responsibilities was measuring infants for growth, and when she looked into available measuring tools, her options were scarce. The Lubchenco growth chart
