title: Postnatal percentile growth charts for Indian appropriate for gestational age (AGA) very low birth weight babies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop postnatal percentile growth charts for Indian very low birth weight (VLBW) appropriate for gestational age (AGA) babies till 37 weeks post conceptional age (PCA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, mixed longitudinal study in 105 VLBW AGA (male 73 and female 32) babies weighing <1500 g and <34 weeks gestation born over 1 year. All were weighed daily until discharge and then weekly till 37 weeks of PCA. The percentile weight curves were computed in four categories : ≤28 weeks, 29-30, 31-32 and 33 weeks, and a total of seven percentile distributions (3rd, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th& 97th) were generated. Entire data were subjected to Tanner's 1951 method to compute mean and standard deviation for body weight. The arithmetic mean served the 50(th) percentile.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All babies at birth were <50th centile as per Lubchenco's intrauterine growth chart. This pattern was more evident in higher gestation (31-32 and 33 weeks) than lower gestation (≤28 and 29-30 weeks). At 37 weeks PCA, all were <10th centile and the lowest was in ≤28 weeks gestation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our babies are born smaller, and growth rate is slower than their western counterparts. Babies at lowest gestation had slowest postnatal growth. Hence, we need a separate growth chart for our babies.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors: Sarath
authors: S
authors: Kumar
authors: Anil Kumar
authors: AK
authors: Bhalla
authors: Kanya
authors: K
authors: Mukhopadhyay
authors: Anil
authors: A
authors: Narang
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D057238:Growth Charts; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D008297:Male; D044465:White People