Infant Weight Gain Concerns

Sometimes a baby may struggle to gain weight, either not gaining weight at all or gain slowly but not enough for them to remain on their growth curve. If your baby is gaining some weight you may wonder if weight gain really is a concern or whether it is within normal limits. While infant growth patterns are well established, it is important to ensure that your baby’s growth is being assessed using the appropriate parameters and growth chart, which for babies receiving human milk is the WHO chart.

Consultations for infant growth concerns start with a thorough examination of your baby’s growth and plotting this data on a growth chart, observing a feed at the breast to ascertain signs of effective milk transfer, a weighted feed to get a snapshot of how much milk baby takes at a feed, an assessment of parental milk supply, and a comprehensive (but gentle) examination of your baby. If weight gain concerns are identified, a plan to immediately get baby additional nutrition is devised that works for your family’s stated feeding goals while also identifying what caused the slowed weight gain initially and strategies to resolve those challenges.