Women & Child Development Department (WCD)
Government of Gujarat
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Growth Monitoring System

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Growth Monitoring System

Published : 01 Sep 2018

Growth refers to increase in physical size of the body and development refers to skills and function. Measuring a child's weight and height tells us if the child is underweight, stunted or wasted. These measurements are age and gender specific.

 

Types of measurements

 

  • Length for children less than 2 years of age or with height/length less than 85 cm.
  • Height for children above 2 years of age; and
  • Weight

 

Measuring a child's weight and mapping it against its age (as on the growth chart) tells us if the child is underweight (or low weight for age). This, in general, tells us about the nutritional progress and growth of a child.

 

Measuring a child's height and mapping it against its age (as on the growth chart) tells us if the child is stunted (or low height for age). This tells us that the child has chronic malnutrition, which is likely a result of long term suboptimal health and/or nutritional conditions.

 

Measuring a child's weight and mapping it against its height (as on the growth chart) tells us if the child is wasted (or low weight for height). This tells us that the child has acute malnutrition due to recent disease or lack of adequate food and nutrients.

 

The growth of a child depends on several factors (nutrition of the child, mother's nutrition, height etc.) and hence it varies from child to child. Despite these differences, there is a standard range of age appropriate height and weight for children upto 5 years, which tells us whether the child is exhibiting a healthy growth pattern. This has been established based on a large multi-country study, which includes Indian children and our growth charts are developed based on this.

 

Growth Measurement and its use:

 

To ascertain whether the child is growing adequately, we measure the growth of the human body, using simple, safe, cheap, non-invasive methods. these measurements are used to assess the size, shape and composition of the human body and it reflects if the child is growing adequately or not. It helps us identify individuals with normal and abnormal nutritional status.

 

  1. Process of Measurement of weight:

 

  • Record child's age.
  • If the child is too young to stand, place her on the type -1 weighing machine and note down the recordings.
  • If the child can sit but cannot stand, place her on type-2 weighing machine and record the weight.
  • If the child can stand alone, ask her to step onto the centre of the type-3 scale and stand still. Wait until the numbers on the display no longer change and stay fixed in the display.
  • Record the weight of the child to 0.01 kg.
  • Record this weight. For confirmation, record the weight once again. If there is a difference between the two readings, then measure the child for the third time to confirm the actual weight.

                   

                                        Type-1                                                          Type-2                                        Type-3

 

  1. Process of Measurement for LENGTH of children less than 2 years of age or with height/length less than 85 cm:

          

  • Place your hands over the child's ears. With your arms straight, place the child's head against the base of the fixed head-end. The child should be looking straight up so that the line of sight is perpendicular to the board. Your head should be directly over the child's head. Watch the child's head to make sure it is in the correct position against the base of the fixed head-end of the infantometer.
  • When the child's position is correct, move the sliding foot piece with your right hand until it is firmly against the child's heels.
  • Take measurement to 0.1cm, no rounding should be done.
  • Record the length. For confirmation, record the length once again. If there is a difference between the two readings, then measure the child for the third time to confirm the actual length.

 

  1. Process for Measure height of children above 2 years who are able to stand:

 

  • Child stands with back against the board. Head, hips and ankle should touch the panel as shown in the picture.
  • Body weight is evenly distributed on both feet/arms on the side.
  • Child's legs are placed together, bringing knees or ankles together.
  • Head is up and facing straight ahead.
  • Eyes level parallel to the ground (line of sight).
  • Bring headpiece down onto the upper most point on the head; compress the hair.
  • Take reading at the eye level.
  • Take measurement to 0.1cm. Do not do any rounding.
  • Record the height measurements. For confirmation, record the height once again. If there is a difference between the two readings, then measure the child for the third time to confirm the actual height.