The WHO growth charts are standards they identify how children should grow when provided optimal conditions. Typical growth patterns may not be ideal growth patterns. However the CDC growth charts are references they identify how typical children in the US did grow during a specific time period.

The WHO standards provide a better description of physiological growth in infancy.Clinicians often use the CDC growth charts as standards on how young children should grow.

The WHO charts reflect growth patterns among children who were predominantly breastfed for at least 4 months and still breastfeeding at 12 months.

The WHO standards establish growth of the breastfed infant as the norm for growth.Breastfeeding is the recommended standard for infant feeding.

Why use WHO growth standards for infants and children ages 0 to 2 years of age in the U.S?

Use the CDC growth charts to monitor growth for children age 2 years and older in the U.S.

Use the WHO growth charts to monitor growth for infants and children ages 0 to 2 years of age in the U.S.

RecommendationĬDC recommends that health care providers: The distribution shows how infants and young children grow under these conditions, rather than how they grow in environments that may not support optimal growth. The World Health Organization (WHO) released a new international growth standard statistical distribution in 2006, which describes the growth of children ages 0 to 59 months living in environments believed to support what WHO researchers view as optimal growth of children in six countries throughout the world, including the U.S.

World timetable chart