Postnatal Growth

The curves on this page were created using the UK90 growth data (1).

Size at Birth by Gestational Age

The curves in this section were derived from a study of ~45,000 singleton births Scotland between 1980 and 2003 (2). Infants were born between 24 and 43 weeks of gestation. The authors determined birthweights separately for firstborn and subsequent children. To make the graphs easier to read, we created three sets of curves: 24-30 weeks, 31-37 weeks, and 37-43 weeks.

Firsborn children

Nextborn children

Down Syndrome

A large study published in 2002 gathered data from ~1,100 healthy people with Down syndrome living in the British Isles (3). Study subjects lived in England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and Scotland. The study did not include children with major medical problems that would affect growth, nor did it include data before age two in children who had been born preterm. The curves go to age 18. This paper is freely available.

Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome (VCFS; aka Chromosome 22q11 Microdeletion Syndrome)

VCFS is the most common autosomal microdeletion syndrome in humans. As implied from the syndrome's name, many patients with VCFS have feeding problems and cleft palates ("velo"), cardiac problems, and a facial appearance characteristic of the syndrome. The DNA deletions in this condition can also impair growth.

A study published in 2012 obtained clinical records for 818 people with VCFS aged 0 to 37 years (4). The study authors used the records to create growth curves for height, weight, and head circumference. The growth curves have the percentile values 9th to 91st centile for boys and girls ages 2-20 years.

Williams Syndrome

Williams syndrome is caused by micro deletions on chromosome 7. Patients tend to be short, have cardiac problems, learning difficulties, characteristic facial appearence, and high levels of blood calcium. A study of published in 2007 created growth curves from 169 British children and adults with confirmed Williams syndrome; 861 measurements were made, including data from hospital notes of 67 individuals (5). Centile curves were created with the 2nd to 98th percentiles.

Clicking a link below will cause the chart to display on the PubMed Central website. You can click on a chart to enlarge it.

References

1. 1. Cole TJ et al. (2011) Revised birth centiles for weight, length and head circumference in the UK-WHO growth charts. Ann Hum Biol 38(1):7-11. Abstract on PubMed.
2. 2. Bonellie S et al. (2008) Centile charts for birthweight for gestational age for Scottish singleton births. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 8:5doi:10.1186/1471-2393-8-5. Full text on PubMed
3. 3. Styles ME et al. (2002) New cross sectional stature, weight, and head circumference references for Down's syndrome in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Arch Dis Child 87:104-108. Full text on PubMed.
4. 4. Habel A et al. (2012) Syndrome Specific Growth Charts for 22q11.2 deletion Syndrome in caucasian children. Am J Med Genet Part A158A:2665-2671. Abstract on PubMed.
5. 5. Martin N D T et al. (2007) New height, weight and head circumference charts for British children with Williams syndrome. Arch Dis Child 92:598-601. Full text on PubMed.