Growth monitoring is the regular measurement of a child's height or length, weight and head circumference, plotted on standard growth charts, with pubertal staging in older children. The line a child follows over time says far more than any single measurement.
Steady growth along a centile is one of the best signs of good health. Crossing centiles downwards or upwards, or growing much shorter or taller than the parents' heights predict, prompts a search for a cause. Most short children are healthy and simply take after their family or mature late.
Bedingungen, die dieser Service betreut
- Short stature and slow growth
- Poor weight gain in infants (faltering growth)
- Childhood overweight and obesity
- Early puberty, before 8 in girls or 9 in boys
- Delayed puberty, no signs by 13 in girls or 14 in boys
- Unusually large or small head size in infants
- Growth hormone deficiency, hypothyroidism, coeliac disease and Turner syndrome presenting as poor growth
Tests, die Ihnen möglicherweise angeboten werden
- Accurate measurement: Length on a measuring board under age 2, standing height on a wall-mounted stadiometer after, and calibrated scales.
- Growth charts and growth velocity: WHO charts to age 5 and national references afterwards; at least two measurements 6 months apart give velocity.
- Mid-parental height: Calculates the range the child is expected to reach from the parents' heights.
- Bone age X-ray: A left hand and wrist film showing skeletal maturity and remaining growth potential.
- Blood tests: Blood count, thyroid function, coeliac antibodies, kidney and liver tests, IGF-1 and, in short girls, a karyotype.
- Growth hormone stimulation test: A supervised day test, done by a paediatric endocrinologist only after other causes are excluded.
Behandlungen verfügbar
- Reassurance and follow-up: For familial short stature and constitutional delay, which need no treatment.
- Nutrition support: Feeding assessment and dietitian input for poor weight gain, and family-based lifestyle change for obesity.
- Treating the underlying disease: Gluten-free diet, thyroid hormone or control of a chronic illness restores growth.
- Growth hormone therapy: Daily or weekly injections for years in proven deficiency and a few other approved conditions.
- Puberty treatment: Medicines to pause true early puberty, or a short hormone course to start delayed puberty.
Wann Sie eine Fachmeinung einholen sollten
- Your child has dropped across two major centile lines
- Height is below the lowest centile line or far below what family heights suggest
- A child grows less than about 4 to 5 cm a year between age 4 and puberty
- Signs of puberty appear very early or very late
- Rapid weight gain with slowing height, which suggests a hormonal cause
Reisen nach Türkiye für diese Pflege
Growth can only be judged over time, so monitoring belongs with your child's regular doctor. A visit can provide a one-off paediatric endocrinology opinion with bone age and blood tests in 2 to 3 days; bring every past measurement you have, ideally the growth chart. A stimulation test adds a day. Growth hormone and puberty treatments need supervision every 3 to 6 months for years and should be managed at home. Be cautious of any offer of growth hormone for a healthy short child.
Senden Sie Ihre Berichte, Scans und eine kurze Geschichte und eine Clinic-Y Koordinator Antworten innerhalb von 24 Stunden mit geeigneten Teams und schriftlich, All-inclusive Vorschläge nebeneinander. Die Überprüfung Ihres Falls ist kostenlos.
Häufig gestellte Fragen
Can anything make a healthy child taller?
Good sleep, nutrition and activity allow a child to reach genetic potential. Supplements and stretching do not add height.
Is a bone age scan harmful?
The radiation dose is very small, comparable to a few hours of natural background exposure.
When do children stop growing?
When growth plates close, usually about 15 to 16 in girls and 17 to 18 in boys. After that no treatment increases height.