Preston Meadow's Height Enhancement Blog

height weight percentile infant

Are you prepared for a pre-term baby?

When you have a pre-term baby, or if you baby is born with a low birth weight, there may be problems with development that may not be noticed in the early days after birth. These problems will usually be discovered within the first couple of years of your child’s life. In many instances, Kangaroo Mother Care has been shown to reduce and completely eliminate developmental  problems.

Children Playing Catch-up

                This is a phenomenon seen in children born pre-term. “Catch-up” is used to refer to the situation where a former pre-term baby experiences growth that is faster than normal for children in the same age group. This happens to compensate for the initial slow growth. It can happen with head growth just after term age, height increase in the pre school years and sometimes a rapid height and weight gain may be noticed in the adolescent years. Catch-up growth is influenced to a large extent by genetic makeup, size at birth, nutrition and trauma to the brain during birth. It is not possible to predict with accuracy a child’s future growth, but there is lots of evidence indicating that premature babies given Kangaroo Mother Care tend to catch-up much better than those who receive alternative care.

Tracking a Pre-term Child’s Progress

                As your pre-term baby grows older, you will be keen to track their speech development and progress. Some six year old children have been found to have the speech abilities of a three year old, yet KMC really helps to eliminate this happening to your preemie. Some premature babies are born with good birth weight, within the percentiles for their gestational age. Such babies often catch-up much better and have fewer speech development problems. Infants, who are premature at birth, including those that are not born so small, between 1.5 and 2 kilos, must be monitored carefully so as to recognize any developmental problems as early as possible. Know that by providing KMC to your preemie baby will have amazing benefits in the prevention of these occurring.

If you happen to have a preemie baby they should be screened regularly for corrected age developmental milestones. You can have your baby screened periodically for:

• Sensory  impairment
• Delayed milestones such as sitting up, basic motor skills, walking and so on
• Any other conditions that you and your health professional may deem appropriate

                Ultimately, the follow-up should involve close monitoring of all factors over and beyond normal development. It is also important to keep in mind that children are not similar. Each child is unique in their own way as far as growth and development is concerned. Ongoing communication with your medical provider is the best way to ensure that you child receives any intervention needed at the earliest possible time. Did you know that preemie babies who are given KMC often reach all of their developmental milestones?

                Finally, if you are pregnant or know someone who is pregnant, you never know whether your baby could turn out pre-term. You should learn about Kangaroo Mother Care as it   works wonders for pre-term babies and in the care of full term babies also. It increases the chances of survival and reduces many of the problems that arise as the child grows older.

About the Author

For more information on pre-term babies and the benefits of kangaroo mother care, please visit http://themiracleofkangaroomothercare.com your online resource for natural parenting and newborn care. http://themiracleofkangaroomothercare.com is one of the internet’s foremost resources on the education and application of Kangaroo Mother Care.

Is it okay that my 5 month old infant’s percentiles do not match?

My 5 month old is 50th percentile for height– but 75th percentile for weight. Could this mean I am overfeeding her? I am a new parent. I give her two meals of pureed fruit/rice a day. She also drinks approximentely 30 oz of formula a day.

Oh gosh, don’t worry! It just means that her height hasn’t caught up with her weight yet.

My 6 week old is 50th for height and 95th for weight. lol He is breastfed and I can’t see cutting back on his nursing sessions.

My kids have always been weird that way. One of my twins has always been heavier than tall and her twin sister is always taller than she is heavy.

Gianna at 2 months old

Since you found this site, I assume you are interested in gaining a few extra inches of height. Although (if you’re a mature adult) this may sound like a pipe dream, I assure you that it is easier than you think! We’ve all been taught that height is mostly out of our control, that it’s largely determined by genetics. I’m here to tell you that there is more to the story. Of course our gene pool has a lot to do with ones height, but it is definitely not the only factor. Your state of emotion, your exercise regimen, the food you eat, and the hours you sleep are all factors in height determination. Click here to read the rest of the article: Free Height Enhancement