Weight and length measurement in infants:

Monitoring weight and length in infants is a critical aspect of assessing their overall health and development. It can help identify potential health problems early on and provide necessary interventions if needed.

Weight measurement:

It is an important parameter in assessing child ‘s nutritional stats, growth and development. Weight — for — age and weight — for — length are the key indicator of wasting in children. Weight of an infant can be measured accurately by using different equipment such as electronic scale or a triple beam balance having non-detachable weights with an accuracy of 0.01kg for children aged less than 2y and 0.

1kg for children aged more than 2y. In a pan type pediatric scale, the weight of an infant or child can be measured while letting him or her lie down calmly.

Another option is the usage of hanging scale. A hanging scale should be affixed to a steady structure such as doorframe or a building rafter. The weight measurements are taken while the child is suspended on the scale in weighing pants.

During weight measurement, ensure that the child is in as little clothing as possible and no one is holding onto the child. Record weight to the nearest 10 grams. Three measurements should be recorded to compute an average while exclude the values which appear skewed.

Calibration is an important consideration in weight measurement. Thus, before any measurement are recorded, calibration of the scale should be performed.

Afterwards, the measurements are performed according to procedure described below.

1.Infant weight is measured by using the scale that weighs in kg to the nearest 10g for infants weighing up to 7.5kg and 10g for those weighing upto 20kg.

2.Ensure that the scale is placed on a flat surface. Turn on the scale and wait for zero to get visible on the display.

3.Ideally, the baby should be naked. In colder climate, the surface of weighing pan may be warmed by positioning an incandescent light bulb above the pan to make it comfortable.

4.Carefully place the baby onto the scale and wait until the baby turns calm and stops moving.

5.Ensure that the baby does not hold onto any support.

6.Record the weight to the nearest 0.01 or 0.1kg as described earlier.

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