DEFINITION, PREVALENCE & ETIOLOGY
DEFINITION
- Faltering growth/failure to thrive: inadequate physical growth or inability to maintain an expected growth rate
- Growth is usually measured using growth charts (separate centile charts are used for boys & girls, pre-term babies, Down’s syndrome and patients with significant health problems) – Monitored growth parameters: height/length, weight, head circumference.
PREVALENCE
- Common in the first few days of life (up to 10% weight loss is normal by day 3-4, usually returns to normal within 3 weeks)
ETIOLOGY
- Inadequate calorie intake – most common
- Inadequate nutrient absorption
- Increased calorie demand/expenditure