Evidence of How Infant Growth Charts Lie
April 29, 2009 by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Filed under breastfeeding photos, health of the baby
At every well baby visit, the pediatrician diligently charts the baby’s growth on a CDC growth chart or a WHO growth chart (which better reflects the general growth patterns of breastfed babies). Those charts have their place for monitoring that a baby continues to grow on essentially the same curve. However, such charts might mislead parents into thinking that a baby who is at the top end of the weight growth chart might be heavy as an older child. In fact, breastfed babies are less likely to be overweight as children than their formula-fed counterparts. So the next time a doubter tries to claim “You’re feeding that baby too much!” (yes, someone said that to me), direct him or her to these photos. First, there’s the “aww how cute” factor of this gorgeous breastfed baby boy:
Photo courtesy of crimfants
Notes on the picture explain that this baby weighed 22 pounds and change at six months of age! Fast forward about six years, and this is the skinny, cute little kid that baby grew up to be!
Photo courtesy of crimfants
I had this happen to me too. My son has always been in the 60-80th percentile for height and weight – on the formula charts. At his 1 year appointment, my doctor told me to stop nursing him overnight because it will make him overweight, and in the same breath told me he now needed 24 oz of cow’s milk a day. I questioned her about this, reminding her that while he is heartily eating solids he is still breastfed on demand and will continue to be. I also told her that I didn’t think that nursing him overnight will make him “fat” but that force feeding him that much cow’s milk might.
She admitted that she hadn’t had a child that was nursed past a year in as long as she could remember, so she wasn’t sure what to recommend (which made me a little sad…). She said to give 18 oz instead. I smiled and nodded. He gets maybe 8 oz a day – also water, some juice (either watered down apple or prune juice) and still nurses on demand at 14.5 months old. He signs for “drink”, “juice” or “milk/num nums” so we know when he’s thirsty, and he drinks to thirst.
Oh. And he’s not fat.
He’s just a healthy, big guy. Just like his daddy. 
My son was a little chunker too. He was 19lb at 4 months and 22lb at 6 months just like that baby. Now, at 3 1/2, he is a tall lanky boy with so much energy and health. You cannot overfeed a breastfed baby!
Now, see, I have the opposite problem. My children are always on the bottom end of the chart, if they’re on it at all. My babies are bf on demand, but very slim, ie, my current 5mo is 13.5 lbs. They’re healthy, rarely ill, and reach developmental milestones ahead of the curve. There’s such a varience of sizes that babies come it. That’s why the chare it supposed to be an ‘average.’ People come in all shapes and sizes, so should babies. I truely wish they’d do away with the charts altogether, there are much more reliable ways to see if a baby is thriving than solely based on weight gain. Weights should be kept, but not the total basis of evaluation. Oh, and I do have experience with these small little ones. I have 7 children, 12 and under, all had extended bf’ing, past 12 mo. including some tandem nursing, so I’ve got about 10 yrs bf experiance. The olders are all very healthy, active, and trim. I agree, you can’t overfeed a breastfed baby!
I just sent a letter to Parenting magazine commenting on their blurb about growth charts. They said a baby should double her birth weight by 4 months (!) and triple it by a year, and if not, may be diagnosed as “failure to thrive”. They then suggested that an exclusively breastfed baby “may not be getting their fill” but might keep quiet about it if she’s the “laid-back type”. Suggested advice? Talk to a lactation consultant about your low supply, and “meanwhile, consult with a doctor about supplementing with formula”. Perhaps, as a reader of this blog, you can imagine what my letter said?
If anyone is interested in doing a little breastfeeding advocacy, the article can be found here:
http://www.parenting.com/article/Baby/Health/6-Low-Stress-Baby-Checkups
Angela, thanks for your blog; I look forward to your posts every day!
BBC has reported that UK babies will be getting new growth charts: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8035784.stm. I wonder what growth charts pedias in my country are using? hmmm….