Essay On Physical Development Of Children

CHAPTER 6
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS

6.1. General Remarks
World Health Organization defines physical development of children as a cumulative indicator of health status in individual child, as well as within population; indicators of physical development of young children are defined as criteria for assessing the social and economic development of certain regions, or countries. WHO considers the monitoring of physical development of young children as one of the most effective measures taken by health professionals in order to reduce mortality and morbidity of young children. Assessment of physical development of a child under 9 years of age is based on the “Growth Standards”, developed by WHO in 2006. The “Growth Standards” are based on the results of a multicenter study of physical development of 8440 children (from birth up to 71 months of age) in 6 countries (Brazil, Ghana, India, Norway, Oman and USA) from 1997 to 2003.
The criteria for selecting children to develop the “Growth Standards” were:
1) Mother’s smoking cessation during pregnancy and afterwards.
2) Exclusive breastfeeding for at least 4 months of life and continuing breastfeeding at least up to 1 year of age.
3) Adequate childcare at home and accessibility to quality medical assistance.
Due to the criteria of selecting children for the study, which were based on

For this purpose, the nurse measures length / height, weight, head circumference of the infant. Results of measurements are recorded in the appropriate graphic charts. This makes it possible to observe the tendencies of physical development over a period of time, as well as to identify the problems of physical development. In most cases, deviations from standard rates of body weight and length / height increase are indicative of health disorders, requiring careful analysis of the situation and appropriate