Failure to thrive (FTT) is defined as a child first year of life, 60-80 % will have an organic cause significant failure to thrive. Complex with deficiencies in weight and height as etiology. heart problems, which are cyanotic, have a compared to age related normals. Failure to 40% rate of failure to thrive. Corrective thrive includes children whose weight and Primary skeletal growth deficiency has its surgery usually allows catch-up growth. height are less than the 3rd percentile or onset during the pregnancy and growth is slow Kidney problems or failure will lead to whose weight or height have decreased more in height and weight from early life to acidosis, rickets and slow growth. Steroid use than 2 major percentiles (ex. 50 to 3rd adulthood. These include children with will inhibit growth. Liver disease (Hepatitis) percentile on their growth charts). Below is a chromosomal problems (ex: Turner will cause malabsorption of food and chart so that you can understand "normal" Syndrome, Down's Syndrome), skeletal vitamins, thus slowing growth. growth rates. Failure to thrive children do not dysplasias (ex: Achondroplasia, Osteogenesis experience these "normal" rates. Imperfecta), and dwarfism syndromes (ex: Lung problems such as Cystic Fibrosis, severe Russell Silver, Cornelia de Lange, etc.) stridor and severe recurrent infections affect growth. Thyroid hormone deficiency can Normal growth rates for height Secondary growth deficiency problems are children are : present from birth all the way through divided into before birth and after birth types. childhood. The thyroid child may have normal The before birth failure to thrive may be due growth initially and then develop failure to Age Growth in Height to maternal malnutrition which causes smaller thrive. Growth hormone deficiency presents infants. Maternal high blood pressure, 0-6 months 7-10 inches/year with slowing of height more than weight and cigarette smoking, alcohol use (fetal alcohol they grow less than 2.0 inches/yr, have normal 6-12 months 6-7 inches/year syndrome) will lower birth weight. Maternal body proportions and are often below the 1-2 years 4-5 inches/year drug use, seizure medicine use (Dilantin) or growth chart (discussed in another brochure). infections/viruses (rubella, cytomegalic 2-3 years 3-4 inches/year inclusions disease, toxo- plasmosis, syphilis) In general a child whose height, weight and 3-4 years 2-3 inches/year will make the infants smaller. head size are small has a genetic or 4-10 years 2 inches/year chromosomal problem, or the pregnancy was After delivery, many factors will affect our complicated by a serious infection. If the Normal growth rates for weight in children's size - malnutrition due to inadequate child has a normal head size, but the height children are: calories, poor feeding techniques, improper and weight are less than the 3 rd percentile (off mixing of formula is still seen frequently, even the growth curve) consider hormone problems, Age Growth in Weight in some of the best families. Emotional skeletal deficiencies and delayed puberty. If deprivation causes failure to thrive. The 0-4 months 1 1/2 lbs/month the child has a normal height and head size, deprived social and emotional setting of the 4-10 months 1 lb/month but the weight is below the growth curve think child may not be apparent from the parental of malnutrition and non-organic failure to 10-24 months 1/2 lb/month history. This may be seen in early infancy or thrive. 2-8 years 3-4 lbs/year as late as 2-3 years old. Their developmental delay may be proportionate to their size, not If your child has failure to thrive by his/her Fifty percent of failure to thrive is non- their age. Children with mental retardation growth chart, have your physician assess and organic and 50 % is due to organic processes. often have failure to thrive, which is determine which of these etiologies exists. Head size, motor function and IQ may be nutritional in origin. Only then can the failure to thrive be assessed affected also. If failure to thrive is seen in the and corrected. Failure to thrive does not occur GI problems such as reflux, malabsorption, without an etiology. See your child's doctor. parasites, milk intolerance and diarrhea will
Major Failure to Thrive
A spects of
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to I n The MAGIC Foundation® Thrive For Children’s Growth
C hildren Not an illusion or magical,
Contributing Author: But the caring for children The MAGIC Foundation is a national and their families nonprofit organization created to provide support services for the families of children * * * * afflicted with a wide variety of chronic Dedicated to the growth Paul M. Desrosiers, M.D. and/or critical disorders, syndromes and Pediatric Endocrinologist and overall development diseases that affect a child’s growth. Some of children Medical Director of the diagnoses are quite common while Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children others are very rare. Orlando, Florida MAGIC 6645 W. North Avenue Oak Park, IL 60302 Continues and develops through 708-383-0808/fax 708-383-0899 membership fees, corporate sponsorship, private donations 800-3 MAGIC 3 www.magicfoundation.org This brochure is for informational and fundraising. purposes only. Neither The MAGIC Foundation nor the contributing physician “Children have a short time to grow and a assumes any liability for its content. lifetime to live with the results” ® Consult your physician for diagnosis and treatment.