Medicine
Pediatric Growth Charts and Failure to Thrive Evaluation
Quick fact
A single measurement below the 5th percentile is not enough to diagnose failure to thrive—what matters is the trajectory. A consistent fall across two major percentile lines is often a red flag.
Why this is interesting
You'd think a baby's growth is always steady, but sometimes their weight stalls or even drops. How do doctors know when this is just a 'picky eating' stage or a sign of a serious underlying problem?