feeling threatened by the 'centiles'

[milch]

What are these 'centiles' on the growth charts and do they REALLY matter?

DD, 4 months, was born on 91st centile for lenght and weight. She's exclusively breastfed and her weight settled more-or-less along the 50th centile, though her length stayed on the 91st. But in the last month her weight-gain has dropped off and she's now on the 25th centile. She's also barely grown in length over this last month, either, so her length is now also 25th centile.

DOES IT MATTER?

I'm feeling very anxious and really don't know what to do about it. BF has been a real struggle for me, and I'm reluctant to give it up just as I begin to enjoy it.

No it doesn't matter. Those charts are not right for BF babies, they're based (I believe) on formula fed babies.

But is it OK for her growth to slow down so much?

I'm always asked 'if it wasn't for the charts would you worry?' and the answer used to be 'no, not at all' because she's alert, happy, making nappies, growing out of her clothes, etc etc. But now she seems to have stopped getting longer I am getting worried.

There you go - I was going to ask "Is she alert, does she have wet nappies, is she content..."

I don't think babies grow in length at a regular rate. Certainly my DSs seem to suddenly shoot up and then stop. Looking at DS2s book, his weight dropped to 75th percentile from 91st at around 4 months and then picked back up the next month. I think this coincided with trying him on solids actually. Funnily enough, DS1s book shows a similar drop and recovery at 4 months too.

Is dd happy, healthy and alert? If so, the centiles don't really matter - all they are are averages, and some babies don't follow the "average" growth curve.

My ds was also born on the 91st centile for weight and head circumference (I think he was just 50th for length, but I can't really remember), but then progressively dropped through the centiles until he was underneath the charts!

Throughout this this time, he was happy, healthy and alert and (to my dh, more importantly) my dad, who was a paediatric radiologist, was never worried.

Anyway, I got loads of support from the midwives/bf counsellors at the bf support group at the maternity hopsital and they got me feeding him extra EBM, making me wake him up for feeds and so on, but when he still didn't gain weight (although he never LOST weight), referred him to the consultant paediatrician. He took one look at this manifestly healthy baby, told me to stop faffing about with the hassle of expressing (I didn't, as it was useful as I was going back to work at 4 months) and was more interested in knowing what my dad (who had retired) was up to.

At about 3 months he started to creep back into the charts, chuntered along on the 2nd centile for a while and then gradually moved up to the 25th.

I exclusivley b/f for 4 months, before beginning to wean him and went on to fully b/f for 13 months.

He's now 2 1/2 and I don't have a clue where he is on any of the charts. he's a happy healthy boy and that's all that matters. At his 2 year check, he was roundabout the 50th centiles for everything I think.

How big are you and your dh? Dh and I are both small and were, when we were young at least, skinny, so it's no wonder that ds followed the same pattern. Weight at birth is supposed to be more a reflection of maternal health and it's only AFTER birth that the the genetic influences come into play more strongly. I suspect I was borderline diabetic as well - I kept on getting sugar in my urine, but not in my blood.

I suppose the key question to ask is: if you weren't measuring her, would you be worried? Trust your instincts!

It's so reassuring to hear that others have gone through the same sort of thing. I'm very lucky, my HV puts me under no pressure (she even said not to be tempted to wean early, just in case dd filled up on solids and so took less milk) but myself I'm a champion worryer. We're both tall, and ds (2 1/2) was also 91st centile for height until aabout 18m, so I can't help expecting similar behaviour from dd. (I know, they're all different! ) DS was bottle-fed so I feel such a novice. I do wish I could make it to a regular bfing/postnatal group of some sort, but with a toddler in tow it never works out.

I'm another one with a baby dropping off the centiles. Told by GP that it doesn't matter a bit, as he is healthy and we are not big parents. Don't worry.

thanks for starting this milch, my ds is sliding down the weight centiles and up the length ones, and i was beginning to wonder if i should be concerned, but like your dd he is well healthy lively, eats and slepps, etc etc, so I'll stop worrying now!

I also wouldn't worry about the centile charts - my ds went through a very long (& for me stressful) phase of not eating. He was never big, but dropped from 25 to 9 %ile. This was one of my concerns when speaking to doctor. He didn't feel concerned about the numbers - did he look well, was he weeing & pooing ok, colour ok etc. This reasuurred me a lot.

I think HV's can get too hung up on these charts which I think were based on bottle fed babies in the 60's.

I would speak to GP maybe just for ressurrance, but wouldn't get unduly concerned about numbers - main thing as others have said is that she is well in herself.

In a similar vein should I be worried that my dd's head measurements are on the 25th centile but her weight and height are on the 75th? Will she forever be a pin-head? When does this become a worry?. Why do they need to know the head size?

dd has been feeding every 2 - 2 1/2 hours for the last two days, and nights (and this is a baby who never woke more than once a night unless ill!). Please please please let this be a growth spurt!!

Debster, my other child had similar discrepancy between head and body, noone ever worried adn he seems fine - even rather forward on intellectual development. I've no idea whether he's evened out or not.