Reference no: EM133445777
In the scenario presented, a 9-month-old girl is in the 25th percentile for both length and head circumference and 5th percentile for weight according to the CDC growth chart. The CDC does recommend that health care providers use the WHO growth chart to assess infant growth for those between 0 and 2 years old as it provides a reference point for expected infant growth under optimal conditions (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). One thing that could help the nurse gain a better picture of the infant's growth is to look back in the chart and see the infant's past growth trends. Has the infant always been in the 25th percentile range? Or did the infant start off at a higher percentile and drop sharply? If the infant has always remained steady at around 25th percentile, then that would not be concerning. What's more concerning is seeing a sudden sharp regression.
In addition, the nurse can also assess the infant's development of fine and gross motor skills. The nurse can provide the mother with information from the CDC website that goes into detail about the expected motor skills milestones at different stages in the infant's life. For a 9-month-old, some fine motor skills include being able to transfer items from one hand to the other, feed themselves with finger foods and bang objects (Green, 2022). For gross motor skills, at this point they can crawl, get into a sitting position, remain sitting unsupported, pull themselves up to their feet, and remain standing while holding on to something (Green, 2022).
As far as language development, 9-month-olds generally can babble, laugh, and blow bubbles (Green, 2022). Around this age, they also may begin to start responding to a few simple verbal commands (Green, 2022).
While physical growth is always important to track, it is also important to ensure the infant is also progressing in their development milestones and language skills, as well. The nurse can help remind mother how all these different factors come into play and that growth can be seen in different ways other than just the physical ones.