Gain in weight and length during early infancy.

Although rate of growth is generally recognized as a valuable indicator of health status, few reference data are available for gain in weight or length during the period of most growth in infancy. We have therefore summarized our data concerning gains in length and weight of 203 breast-fed males, 216 breast-fed females, 380 formula-fed males, and 340 formula-fed females. Seven sets of measurements (at ages 8, 14, 28, 42, 56, 84 and 112 days) were made with each infant. The 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th and 95th centile values together with the means and standard deviations are presented for selected age intervals on a feeding-specific (i.e. breast-fed or formula-fed) and sex-specific basis. We believe that these data will be useful as a reference for interpreting results of infant studies.