Babies who are slow to gain weight in the first months of their lives generally catch up to their peers by age 13,a large UK study shows, Researchers said the results would make parents whose babies fail to put on weight quickly less worried. The researchers looked at data from ,11,499 children who took part in a large study, It showed that 507 who were slow to gain weight in the first eight weeks of life recovered fairly quickly and had almost caught up by age 2. Another group of 480 who were slow to gain between eight weeks and nine months continued to put on weight slowly until they were seven years ,but then had a sudden increase and caught up by age 13, The different pattems of recovery between the two groups were likely due to different reasons for slow weight gain ,the researchers said, All the children were still lighter and shorter than their peers by the time they were teenagers ,but within the normal range. The findings highlight the importance of monitoring a baby's weight and height gain during the first few weeks and months ,but not creating anxiety with parents of slow-growing babies, said the study leader Prof Alan Emond from the University of Bristol. "In the past, a lot of parents have been caused unnecessary anxiety by heaith professionals and this is a positive and _ message."He said in many cases of slow growth where children do not follow the standard'curve' it is just because they are following their genetic potential. Dr Simon Newell, vice-president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said he broadly agreed with the concluslons of the researchers but stressed that poor weight gain was something that needed to be monitored closely, "I would encourage parents to use growth charts but if measurements show your baby is smaller than averager it may be completely normal, "he said. What can we know from the findings of the research?
All the cases of slow weight gain in the first months of the babies' lives are caused by the same reason Slow-growing babies will have the same height and weight with their peers by age13 Many cases of children whose growth don't meet the growing standard curve cannot be treated as abnormal The findings won't cause parents' anxiety so monitoring a baby's growth from his/her birth is unnecessary