CASE

Case

Case

Scenario 2:

Sam is a 35 week-infant convalescing in your nursery. Sam's mother has successfully breastfed two term infants and wishes to continue breastfeeding Sam. There is however some concern over the growth and development of Sam. His weight and overall growth has been steadily dropping and is now below the 10th percentile on the growth chart. Discuss the management options you may be able to instigate to help this situation.

Purpose of Growth and Development Charts

Growth charts are the most commonly used tool in a doctor's office to assess the size and growth patterns of children. The growth charts use percentiles to mark where children are, this allows them to be compared to other children who are the same age. The percentiles are used to rank the position of each child because they indicate what percent of the reference population the child would equal or exceed. For example, if your child is in the 50th percentile for weight at the age of 3 years old that means that they weigh the same or more than 50% of 3 year olds, but she also weighs less than 50% of the 3 year olds in the reference population.

Because of how important growth charts are for monitoring your child's growth, many parents have begun using them at home. One of the ways that you can get a growth chart to use at home is to ask your doctor's office for a copy, but you can also find a number of growth charts available for you to download online. Many parents find growth charts hard to use because of how confusing they are, and the reason that they are so confusing is because a lot of information is being compacted into a small space.

Strategies and personnel required to enhance breastfeeding

The examination of best ...