Читать книгу Infants and Children in Context - Tara L. Kuther - Страница 205

Although growth follows particular norms, children’s rate of growth varies with hereditary and contextual factors. Some children, however, show significantly slower growth than other children their age. Some infants demonstrate growth faltering, also known as failure to thrive, a condition in which their growth and weight are substantially lower than other children their age. Specifically, growth faltering refers to weight below the fifth percentile for the child’s age, meaning that the child weighs less than 95% of same-age children (Raab, 2017). Their caloric intake is insufficient to maintain growth (Larson-Nath & Biank, 2016). Children with growth faltering may be irritable and emotional, lack age-appropriate social responses such as smiling and eye contact, and show delayed motor development. Untreated, growth faltering is accompanied by delays in cognitive, verbal, and behavioral skills that make it difficult for the child to achieve success in school, home, and peer environments (Homan, 2016).

Growth faltering may be influenced by medical conditions. Sometimes socioemotional and contextual factors contribute to growth faltering, such as an insecure attachment to caregivers, parents with physical or mental health problems, emotional neglect and abuse, and, especially, living in poverty and experiencing contextual stressors such as violence within the community (Feigelman & Keane, 2017). Pediatricians typically treat growth faltering by providing the child with the nutrients necessary to grow normally. They may also work with other health professionals such as psychologists and social workers to address underlying medical and psychosocial contributors. Although nutritional interventions can alleviate many of the effects of malnutrition on physical development, some children might show long-term cognitive and psychosocial deficits (Homan, 2016; Larson-Nath & Biank, 2016).