A mother comes in with 9-month-old girl. The infant is 68.5cm in length (25th percentile per CDC growth chart), weighs 6.75kg (5th percentile per CDC growth chart), and has a head circumference of 43cm (25th percentile per CDC growth chart). PDF

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Summary

Consider the following patient scenario:

A mother comes in with 9-month-old girl. The infant is 68.5cm in length (25th percentile per CDC growth chart), weighs 6.75kg (5th percentile per CDC growth chart), and has a head circumference of 43cm (25th percentile per CDC growth chart).

Description

1 Topic 1 DQ 2 Our scenario already detailed out the babies physical growth and percentile where she belongs on CDC growth chart. In this scenario, infant is 68.5 cm long which is the 25th percentile per CDC growth chart, meaning she is shorter then 75% of the infant girls of the same age group. She weighs 6.7 Kg ((5th percentile per CDC growth chart) – meaning her weight is less the 95% of the infant girls of her age group, and her head circumference is 43 cm ((25th percentile per CDC growth chart) which means 75% of the infant girls has bigger head circumference of her age group. Now having lesser length, weight and head circumference does not mean she is unhealthy. Chart was development to show the progress of the child among her age group. Infant weights double by age 6 months, then triple by 12 months. However, that doesn’t’ happen in all cases as the growth chart tells us. It is important for the mother / care giver to pay attention about consistent development of the baby physically and emotionally. “Developmental monitoring observes how your child grows and changes over time and whether your child meets the typical developmental milestones in playing, learning, speaking, behaving, and moving. Parents, grandparents, early childhood providers, and other caregivers can participate in developmental monitoring.” Below are the milestones for 9 months Social and Emotional : should show fear of strangers , clingy with familiar adults and play with favorite toys. Language/Communication: Understands “no”, able to say sounds like “mamamama” and “bababababa”, can point fingers at things. Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving): Watches the path of something as it falls, looks for things she sees you hide, plays peek-a-boo, puts things in his mouth, moves things smoothly from one hand to the other, picks up things like cereal o’s between thumb and index finger Movement/Physical Development: Stands, holding on something, able to seat on their own without support, pulls to stand, start to crawls. It is very important for the caregiver to know and understand the infant growth chart. Pediatric nurses can educate the mother with the CDC grow chart, so they understand different aspect of the babies growing up. Ask question to the mother about child’s interaction and habits on – eating, head control, alertness, voice recognition, smiling etc. This is very important the caregiver knows the milestones and pay attention to the infants progress on each of these milestones to ensure the proper growth. Infant in our scenario is on the bottom of CDC chart percentile. Therefore, mother or caregiver should pay specific attention other development milestone to make sure nothing is missing or delayed. Early intervention is the key in development stage. “Infants, toddlers, and their families are nurtured when relationships are healthy, environments are safe, and caregivers understand how to support the learning and development of infants and toddlers.” Infant/Toddler Development, Screening, and Assessment.

2 (n.d.). Nurse can provide resources such as CDC website for parent to learn more about infant developments - https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html

References CDC. (2018). Important Milestones: Your Baby By Nine Months. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-9mo.html Developmental Monitoring and Screening. (n.d.). www.cdc.gov. Retrieved May 20, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/screening.html Infant/Toddler Development, Screening, and Assessment. (n.d.). https://childcareta.acf.hhs.gov/. Retrieved May 20, 2021, from https://childcareta.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/public/infanttoddler_development_screening_and_assessment.pdf...