Infant Percentiles

Infant percentiles are one tool used to track how your baby is growing. However, what percentile your baby is in is not as important as knowing he or she is growing at an appropriate and steady rate.

When your baby arrives, what's the question everyone asks? "How big?" The baby's statistics are usually given out in weight and length. When it comes to infant percentiles, birth weight doesn't seem to play an important role in the future size of your child. Your baby's adult size is more determined by genetics. If you want to have an idea of how big your baby will be as an adult, in most cases you don't have to look much further than parents and grandparents to see the possibilities because chances are your child will follow in their genetic footsteps when it comes to their adult size and build.

If you've heard the term infant percentiles thrown around and wonder what it really means in relation to your child's size, it really isn't a complicated matter. For example, if your child is in the 50th percentile for weight, that means 50 percent of babies the same age and gender as your baby weigh within the same range. That would mean your baby is average weight. If your baby is in the bottom 25 percent for weight that would mean he falls within the lower range with 75 percent of the children weighing more. These same kinds of percentiles are used for height, or in the case of an infant, length. It is not uncommon for your baby to fit into two different infant percentiles, one for weight and one for length.

The main percentile bands are the:

• 10th
• 50th
• 90th

Today parents have tools at their disposal to easily chart their child's growth from infancy through childhood. You can find infant percentile calculators and infant growth percentile charts online which makes tracking their growth easy. Plus charting your baby's growth is a convenient way to see an overview of your baby's development.

To take advantage of these tools, you will need to take your baby's measurements. The charts and calculators will compare them to the national averages and let you know where your child falls within the infant percentiles of children of the same age and gender. The measurements needed include:

• Weight
• Length
• Head circumference

Your doctor also compares current measurements to those taken at previous doctor visits. This comparison gives your doctor an idea of the baby's overall health and growth pattern.

The National Center for Health Statistics publishes the data used to create the United States Growth Charts. Percentile curves are presented in 4 different growth curves. These curves are grouped as following:

• Boys, birth to 36 months
• Boys 3 to 18 years of age
• Girls birth to 36 months
• Girls 3 to 18 years of age

If your baby is premature, you can expect her to develop and grow at a different rate. Even when you know this, it can be disheartening to see where your baby falls within the statistics plotted on the growth charts. While some pediatricians adjust growth charts for premature babies, many do not. It is not unusual for a premature baby to fall within the low percentile.

It's important that parents don't get too hung up on where their child places in infant percentiles or on any one entry. If you have concerns, talk them over with your doctor. Overall, what you want to watch for are your child's growth trends. If one entry seems off kilter, it may be the result of an error in measuring. This can happen with a squirming baby. It's the overall pattern that provides your pediatrician with the important information they need regarding your baby's health.

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• Category:Baby Development
• Infant Growth Percentile Chart