WHO+growth+curves+for+breastfed+children

WHO Growth Curves for Breastfed Children
For breastfed children, using these new standards is likely more appropriate than using our traditional growth curves (derived from primarily formula-fed infants). Often, by plotting a breastfed child on the WHO curve, a child suspected of having "failure to thrive" is found to be growing appropriately.
 * The World Health Organization (WHO), between 1997 - 2003, organized the [|Multicentre Growth Reference Study] (MGRS) to devise new standards for growth (weight, height, BMI) of children from birth to age 5. It was an international study, including children from Brazil, Ghana, India, Norway, Oman and the US. In this study, the WHO explicitly stated that breast-feeding is the biological norm. Therefore, their new growth curves were derived from children who were:
 * Exclusively or primarily breastfed for at least the first 4 months of life
 * Complementary foods were initiated by 6 months
 * Breastfeeding was continued at last partially up to at least 12 months

Here are graphs for weight-for-age from birth to 2 years for [|boys] and [|girls]. Similar graphs for other parameters from birth to age 5 are available at the MGRS website. ||