Reasons for Reduced Growth

Remember that children cannot be compared and that it is the child’s personal growth that is important.

We can talk about reduced growth, if the child does not grow as it is supposed to. You can, in the tables to the left, see if your child grows as it is supposed to. To read the tables you need the numbers for the child’s weight and height since birth. If the weight or height is below the numbers in the tables, you should contact a doctor.

The most frequent cause for the child not growing as it is supposed to is a chronic disease. It can be congenital heart disease, backwards flow from stomach to oesophagus with frequent vomiting, asthma, allergy and poorly functioning liver or kidney. More rare diseases are skeletal diseases and chromosomal diseases. Hormonal diseases can also lead to the child not growing as it is supposed to. This concerns a poorly functioning thyroid gland and lack of growth hormone.

The most important thing is to follow the child’s personal growth and contact the doctor if growth stops.