The patient-held Road-to-Health Card is the child’s formal medical record. It gives the child’s medical history, immunisation record, developmental milestones and growth record. Growth is plotted on a weight-for-age chart (growth chart) which is part of the Road-to-Health Card. A blank Road-to-Health Card growth chart is given at the end of this unit. The Road-to-Health [...]
It is important that the Road-to-Health Card be presented by the mother every time the child attends a clinic or hospital or visits a private doctor. Each child must be weighed at every visit and the weight must be plotted accurately on the card. The pattern of weight gain must always be examined and the [...]
The weight-for-age chart is an essential part of the Road-to-Health Card. The area between the 3rd and 97th centiles is shaded in. It is important that the infant’s weight remains within this shaded area and increases parallel to the centiles. If the infant’s weight keeps within this normal weight-for-age range, it is following the ‘road [...]
If failure to gain weight adequately does not respond to management at a primary care clinic, the child must be referred for further assessment and management. This is particularly important in children with a weight that falls or crosses centiles. Usually these children are referred to a special nutritional clinic where the following steps should [...]
Once the child’s growth has been assessed, advice and counseling should be given to the mother to promote normal growth and nutrition. It is of little value to assess growth without taking active steps to promote good growth.
