Friday, October 30th, 2009
Pediatric growth charts are a standard part of any checkup. They have been used by health care providers and parents to track the growth of infants, children, and adolescents in the United States since 1977. They show us how kids are growing compared with other kids of the same age and sex. They also show a pattern of height and weight gain over time, and whether they’re developing proportionately. Girls and boys are measured on different growth charts because they grow in different patterns and at different rates.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has growth charts available on their website. They are not meant to be used as the only diagnostic tool for evaluating a childs’ health. Instead, growth charts are intended to help form an overall impression. If you have any questions about your child’s growth (or growth charts) speak to your health care provider.
Click here to view Birth to 36 months: Boys Length-for-age and Weight-for-age percentiles
Click here to view Birth to 36 months: Girls Length-for-age and Weight-for-age percentiles
Tags: boys, CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, check-ups, girls, growth charts, health care provider, height, Length-for-age and Weight-for-age percentiles, pediatrician, pediatrics, weight
Posted in Baby | 5 Comments »
Tuesday, January 20th, 2009
Next week I’ll be in my 36th week and I start weekly prenatal appointments until the baby is born. The majority of my visits are pretty routine and include your basic physical: blood pressure, weight, listening to the baby’s heart, and measuring my belly. This upcoming visit however my provider is going to test me for Group B streptococcus (GBS, also called Group B strep).
GBS infection is a common bacterial infection that is generally not serious in adults, but can be life-threatening to newborns. All pregnant women should be screened for GBS at 35 to 37 weeks of pregnancy. The health care provider takes a swab of the vagina and rectum and sends the sample to a laboratory for a culture to test for the presence of GBS. Test results are usually available in 24 to 48 hours. Women who test positive for GBS are treated with antibiotics during labor.
Click here to read the March of Dimes fact sheet on Group B Strep Infection.
Also, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have a special Web site devoted to Group B strep.
Tags: antibiotics, bacteria, bacterial, bacterium, blood pressure, CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, culture, delivery, doppler, fetal heart rate, fundal height, GBS, Group B strep, Group B streptococcus, labor, march of dimes, measuring belly, prenatal test, rectum, screening, swab, vagina, weight
Posted in Pregnancy | No Comments »
