Postnatal growth

The PDFs below give growth curves for weight, height and BMI for preschool children and children up to age six and a half. The curves were taken from a study of 2,830 Brazilian children (1). It compared the WHO's growth standards to growth of Brazilian preschool children. The study measured weight, height and BMI.

The head circumference curves show head circumference of exclusively breastfed infants who were part of a longitudinal study from birth to 6 months (2); 181 full term neonates were included in the study. Serial measurements were made in each child.

Size at Birth by Gestational Age

This section has curves for birthweight of Brazilian neonates with their corresponding gestational age. The curves were taken from data in a comprehensive study of birthweight-for-gestational age. The study was based on nearly 8 million observations of an ethnic-mixed Brazilian population (3). It included births in all the Brazilian states from 2003-2005 and gender-specific tables from 22-43 weeks of gestation.

Noonan and Noonan-like Syndromes

People with Noonan syndrome (NS) tend to have heart problems. Most commonly, they have a condition called pulmonary valve stenosis. This means that one of their heart valves doesn't fully open, and blood flow to the lungs is obstructed. Patients also have similar-looking faces. Noonan-like facial characteristics change similarly as patients get older. Short stature is common in Noonan syndrome, but size at birth is often normal. Growth hormones can Many or most Noonan syndrome patients have learning disabilities, but some do not. For example, a study published in 2007 found that 17 out of 48 patients had average or higher intelligence, with 8 patients in the high average range and 1 in the superior range (13). Patients may also bruise or bleed easily, and, in newborn boys, the testicles in boys may not be descended. There are a number of support groups for Noonan syndrome for patients and their families; see the links on the top right of this for a list.

The National Institutes of Health has created a registry for genetic testing. A list of laboratories and organizations that test for Noonan syndrome is available.

An organization called Dyscerne has created a free detailed booklet about the clinical management of Noonan syndrome. The booklet has photographs and copies of the growth curves below. Doctors or other health professionals may be interested in this review article in the journal Pediatrics.

The curves below were made from a study of Brazilian NS patients aged from birth to adulthood (4). The study authors obtained data from 127 people with NS and 10 individuals with Noonan-like syndrome NLS, and none had been treated with growth hormones. The curves in the paper were not easy to read, and we made new ones using data tables in the supplemental information.

References

1. 1. Leone C et al. (2009) New World Health Organization growth standards: comparison with growth data of preschool children of the cities of Taubaté and Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil. Rev Paul Pediatr 27(1):40-47. Full text from Scielo.
2. 2. Jaldin M et al. (2011) Head circumference growth of exclusively breastfed infants during the first six months of life. Rev Paul Pediatr 29(4):509-514. Full text.
3. 3. Pedreira CE et al. (2011) Birth weight patterns by gestational age in Brazil. An Acad Bras Ciênc 83(2):619-625. Full text from Scielo.
4. 4. Malaquias AC et al. (2012) Growth standards of patients with Noonan and Noonan-like syndromes with mutations in the RAS/MAPK pathway. Am J Med Genet A 158A(11):2700-2706. Full text from publisher.